Dr. Mukund Jha
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Research Interests:
My research interests are interdisciplinary with five major emphases:
- Chemical Synthesis
- Green Chemistry
- Medicinal Chemistry
- Microbiology
- Enzymology
The synthetic aspect deals with developing new and efficient methodologies for the synthesis of novel heterocycles. Currently, we are focused on exploring the synthetic chemistry around several biologically relevant heterocycles such as indole, pyridine and pyrimidine and use this knowledge to synthesize useful compounds to enrich the heterocycle diversity. The newly synthesized novel heterocylces will be routinely screened to evaluate their pharmaceutical importance based on 3-D pharmacophoric similarity search of previously generated hypothesis using in-silico mapping.
Understanding the binding interaction of estrogens with the estrogen receptors (ERs) is a key to understating the complex process of ER signalling that regulates various physiological effects. Our group is also involved in the synthesis of novel chemical probes which are designed to provide new insights into binding interaction with the target protein. Furthermore, the synthesized compounds will be routinely tested by evaluating their physicochemical properties and their effect on certain basic biological processes using receptor binding affinity, cytotoxicity assays and metabolism studies. The insights gained from understanding the fundamental chemistry of receptor binding/metabolism will be of immense application to the development of new therapeutic agents.
- Mukund Jha*, Oro Enaohwo, Stephanie Guy.Yttrium triflate-catalyzed efficient chemoselective S-benzylation of indoline-2-thiones using benzyl alcohols. Tetrahedron Letters, 2011, 52, 684-687.
- Mukund Jha*, Ting-Yi Chou, Brian Blunt.General synthesis of mono-, di-, and tri-acetylated indoles from indolin-2-ones. Tetrahedron, 2011, 67, 982-989.
- Mukund Jha*, Oro Enaohwo, Ashley Marcellus. Chemoselective S-benzylation of indoline-2-thiones using benzyl alcohols. Tetrahedron Letters, 2009, 50, 7184-7187. (Highlighted inChemInform)
- Mukund Jha*, Brian Blunt. Highly efficient one-pot C-, N-, O- acylation of indolin-2-one analogs. Tetrahedron Letters, 2009, 50, 6044-6047. (Highlighted inChemInform)
- Susheel J. Nara, Mukund Jha, Johan Brinkhorst, Tony J. Zemneck, Derek A. Pratt. A simple Cu-catalyzed coupling approach to substituted 3-pyridinols and 5-pyrimidinols. Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2008, 73, 9326-9333. (Highlighted inChemInform)
- M. Soledade C. Pedras, Zoran Minic, Mukund Jha. Purification, functional characterization and inhibition of Brassinin Oxidase, a fungal detoxifying enzyme to overcome plant defenses. FEBS Journal, 2008, 275, 3691-3705.
- Mukund Jha, Derek A. Pratt. Kinetic solvent effects on peroxyl radical reactions. Chemical Communications, 2008, 1252-1254.
- M. Soledade C. Pedras, Mukund Jha, Zoran Minic, Oladapo G. Okeola. Isosteric probes provide structural requirements for detoxification of the phytoalexin brassinin by the fungal pathogen Leptosphaeria maculans. Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry, 2007, 15, 6054-6061.
- M. Soledade C. Pedras, Ravi S. Gadagi, Mukund Jha, Vijay K. S. Mamillapalle. Detoxification of the phytoalexin brassinin by isolates of Leptosphaeria maculans involves an inducible hydrolase. Phytochemistry, 2007, 68, 1572-1578.
- M. Soledade C. Pedras, Adewale M. Adio, Mojmir Suchy, Denis P. O. Okinyo, Qing-An Zheng, Mukund Jha, Mohammed G. Sarwar. Detection, characterization and identification of crucifer phytoalexins using high-performance liquid chromatography diode array and electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry analyses. Journal of Chromatography A, 2006, 1133, 171-183.
- M. Soledade C. Pedras, Mukund Jha. Towards the control of Leptosphaeria maculans: design, synthesis, biological activity and metabolism of potential inhibitors of detoxification of the crucifer phytoalexin brassinin. Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry, 2006, 14, 4958-4979.
- M. Soledade C. Pedras, Mukund Jha, Oladapo G. Okeola. Camalexin induces detoxification of the phytoalexin brassinin in the plant pathogen Leptosphaeria maculans. Phytochemistry, 2005, 66, 2609-2616.
- M. Soledade C. Pedras, Mukund Jha. Concise syntheses of the cruciferous phytoalexins brassilexin, sinalexin, wasalexins and analogs: Expanding the scope of the Vilsmeier formylation. Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2005, 70, 1828-1834.(Highlighted inChemInform).
- M. Soledade C. Pedras, Mukund Jha, Pearson W. K. Ahiahonu. The synthesis and biosynthesis of phytoalexins produced by cruciferous plants. Current Organic Chemistry, 2003, 7, 1635-1647