based on the molecular modeling studies on two major families of anxiolytics and sedative hypnotics (benzodiazepines and barbiturates) a series of phthalimide derivatives were prepared from corresponding di-methyl phthalate derivatives in two steps, namely trans-amidification and ring closer of di-methyl phthalate with urea and base catalysed condensation of 4-bromobenzyl chloride and benzoyl c...

The monocot mannose-binding lectins are an extended superfamily of structurally and evolutionarily related proteins, which until now have been isolated from species of the Amaryllidaceae, Alliaceae, Araceae, Orchidaceae, and Liliaceae. To explain the obvious differences in biological activities, the structure-function relationships of the monocot mannose-binding lectins were studied by a combin...

Computational modeling can be a useful partner in biotechnology, in particular, in nanodevice engineering. Such modeling guides development through nanoscale views of biomolecules and devices not available through experimental imaging methods. We illustrate the role of computational modeling, mainly of molecular dynamics, through four case studies: development of silicon bionanodevices for sing...

About 10,000 years ago, humans began to domesticate plants and animals. Now, it is time for us to domesticate molecules. In today’s polymer materials science, many scientists have synthesized a large number of synthetic polymers, which have been widely used in people’s lives. In a sense, natural polymers, like natural rubber, cellulose, etc., are of less importance than ever before. It is well ...