Research interests: Biochemistry, Enzymology, Molecular Biology, Nucleic Acid, Molecular Dynamics.
The project that we are investigating is the discovery of potential drugs or detecting materials using SELEX (Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential enrichment), an in vitro selection technique that allows screening for a particular functionality, such as the binding to proteins. The resulting functional molecules, called aptamers, that are suitable for the enrichment of any desired property are selected from a large, random pool of RNA or DNA (the great majority of pool members are non-functional) by selection techniques. The immense complexity of the generated pool justifies the assumption that there may be a few molecules with secondary and/or tertiary structures that will allow tight and highly specific binding to target molecules, resulting in inhibition of the enzymatic activity (metallo-beta-lactamases – for more information, click Chemical Additive to Antibiotics Could Make Them Newly Effective Against Resistant Bacteria) or development of detecting materials against target molecules (bacteria, toxins, etc).
3D model of metallo-beta-lactamase from Bacillus anthracis.
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Selected Publications: MyBibliography