Profile
Research interests include medicinal chemistry and molecular pharmacology. My research focuses on target-based drug discovery using peptide libraries and heterocyclic molecules, as well as peptide synthesis through manual or automatic synthesis. Affinity selection mass spectrometry (AS-MS) will also be used to screen high-throughput samples. The development of artificial oligonucleotides leads to the elimination of harmful infections, and the discovery of PNA-based drugs is another objective of my lab. We also develop bioassays, screen samples through high-throughput screening, analyze ligand-receptors/enzymes biochemically and biophysically, perform X-ray crystallography, characterize molecular structures by 1H/13CNMR, DEPT optical rotation, UV, LC-MS, HRMS, MALDI, and conduct in silico studies through homology modeling, molecular docking, MD simulation, and structure-based drug discovery. For that my lab will be focused on developing peptide libraries by combinatorial methods, chemical modifications, head-to-tail cyclization, partial cyclization, peptidomimetic, small organic molecules, microwave synthesis, identifying high-affinity binders (peptide-based, organic based for serine proteases, using affinity selection mass spectroscopy (AS-MS), coupled with nano shotgun mass spectroscopy (nLC/MS), and rational chemical modification.
Current Focus Areas
Target-based drug discovery, utilizing peptide libraries, peptidomimetic and bioactive organic molecules synthesized using combinatorial synthesis and manual synthesis, and the discovery of nucleic acid-based antibiotics, their alternative mode of action, and the synthesis of synthetic oligonucleotides derived from PNAs, resulted in the eradication of dangerous bacteria.
Selected Publications
Meena C. L; Hingamire T.; Gupta, T.; Deshmukh, B.; Karmodiya, K.; Joshi, R.Histidinal-Based Potent Antimalarial Agents. ChemMedChem. 2023,e202200709 Mondal, S.; Lessard, J. J.; Meena, C. L.; Sanjayan, G. J.; Sumerlin B.S. Janus Crosslinks in Supramolecular Networks, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2022, 144, 2, 845–853. Meena C.L.; Singh, D.; Bhavya, K.; Prasad, M.; Malini, G.; Tothadi. S.; Sanjayan, G.J. Triazine-based Janus G-C Nucleobase as a Building Block for Self-Assembly, Peptide Nucleic Acids and Smart Polymers. J. Org. Chem. 2021, 86, 4, 3186–3195. Meena C. L.; Shaliwal R. P., Kumar, V., Kumar, A. Tiwari, A.K.; Asthana, S.; Ramandeep Singh, Mahajan D,Synthesis and evaluation of thiophene based small molecules as potent inhibitors of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Eur. J. Med. Chem. 2020, 208, 112772. Meena C. L.; Singh. D.; Weinmüller, M.; Florian, R.; Zahler, H.; Sanjayan, G.J., Novel Cilengitide-based cyclic RGD peptides as αvβ3 integrin inhibitors.Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett, 2020,30, 127039.