Research Units at FOP Drug Discovery & Development Research Unit

Drug Discovery and Development Research Unit

Research Unit’s Supervisor: Prof. O.A. Phillips

Research Group: M.E. Abdel-Hamid, L. Novotny, K. Orabi, N. Al-Tannak, N. Al-Hasawi, S.B. Kombian, M. Qaddoumi, O.A. Phillips, L. Sharaf, H. Gaber, D. Al-Adwani

Research focus areas:

• Discovery of new chemically synthetic and natural product compounds of pharmaceutical interest.
• Elucidation of the chemical structure of the newly discovered compounds
• Biological screening of the newly discovered compounds.
• Development and validation of chromatographic methods for measurement of drug levels in pharmaceutical and biological samples .
• Development of stability-indicating methods for studying the stability and metabolic behavior of newly discovered compounds.

Areas of Collaboration:

• Studying the biological activities of newly discovered compounds using In vitro and In vivo testing models.
• Pharmacokinetic and metabolic studies of newly discovered compounds in animal models.>
• Molecular modeling / computer-aided drug design.

Selected publications:

• Galba J., Veizerova L., Piestansky J., Mego M., Novotny L., Dokupilova S., Marakova K., Havranek E., Mikus P. (2015) HPLC-ESI-Q TOF method for identification and determination of bleomycin A2 and B2 fractions. J. Liq. Chromatogr. & Related Technol. 38, , 294-302.
• Al-Tannak NF (2015) Comparative LC-MS stability- indicating assays of Ondansetron hydrochloride/Naloxone hydrochloride and Metoclopramide hydrochloride/Naloxone hydrochloride used in palliative care. International Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences 7, 109-113.
• Orabi KY, El-Feraly FS, Al-Sulmy WA, Al-Yahya MA. (2013). Biotransformation of Vulgarin. Mini-Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry, 13: 777-782.
• Sallam AA, Houssen WE, Gissendanner CR, Orabi KY, Foudah AI, El Sayed KA (2013). Bioguided discovery and pharmacophore modeling of the mycotoxic indole diterpene alkaloids penitrems as breast cancer proliferation, migration, and invasion inhibitors. Med Chem Comm. 4, 1360-1369, DOI: 10.1039/c3md00198a.
• Phillips OA, Udo EE, Abdel-Hamid ME and Varghese R. (2013). Synthesis and antibacterial activities of N-substituted-glycinyl 1H-1,2,3-triazolyl oxazolidinones. Europ. J. Med. Chem. 66:246-257.
• Kombian SB; and Phillips OA. (2011). Investigations on the effects of linezolid and novel oxazolidinones on central nervous system neurons in vitro. Neurosci. 180:53-63.
• Al-Hasawi, N., Volapato, M., Loadman, P. (2011). Chromatographic analysis of polysialic acid released from neural adhesion molecule presented on glioma cell membranes. Kuwait Journal of Science and Engineering. 38, 107-130.