The University of Hyderabad (UoH) has been granted a patent “Novel anti-HIV-1 heteroaromatic compounds targeted to HIV-1 associated Topoisomerase II beta kinase.” This discovery of new compound was accomplished through the efforts made by a team under the supervision of Prof. Anand K. Kondapi for treatment of HIV-1 infection as a new line of therapy, in the Laboratory for Molecular Therapeutics, Department of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, School of Life Sciences.
Human immunodeficiency virus type I (HIV-1), a causative agent for AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome), infects human T helper cells and replicates with the help of host and viral proteins. The current novel anti-HIV-1 drug candidates were prepared in a two-step process; the first one follows an eco-friendly green chemistry process involving water as solvent, while in the second step - salt is formed.
This result of this invention brings out several novel features such as - water solubility of the drug candidates, non-toxic and higher anti-HIV-1 activity leading to a highly significant inhibition of virus replication. Other members of the research team are: Kurumurthy Kammari, Akhila Bommakanti, Kiran Devaraya, Satyajit Mukhopadhyay and Sarita Swain, said a press release.
