Our lab utilizes Chemical Biology tools to probe the structure and properties of functional nucleic acids. In this direction, we synthesize and screen a number of novel RNA modifications which have therapeutically appealing utilities in siRNAs and miRNAs. We also develop new chemical strategies to access various nucleobase damaged DNAs to study the structure and function of polymerases, which bypass those damages. In addition, with a long term goal to develop nucleic acids targeting therapeutic agents, we synthesize and study the interactions of novel small molecule ligands with various G-quadruplex DNAs and RNAs. In all the projects, we utilize various tools from synthetic organic chemistry, biochemistry, biophysics, cell biology and molecular modeling Specific research focus areas:
• RNA modifications for therapeutic as well as functional studies.
• Stabilization and sensing of G-Quadruplex nucleic acids.
• Telomere mediated molecular therapeutics.
• Molecular modeling and dynamics studies of functional nucleic acids.