Medicinal Chemistry

The Medicinal Chemistry (MC) section is part of The University of Maryland Center for Biomolecular Therapeutics (CBT) that conducts innovative, multidisciplinary and collaborative research programs to discover and develop new drugs for improving human health. The MC group is dedicated to hit to lead medicinal chemistry and lead optimization.

Facilities

The MC group occupies modern laboratory space within the CBT and the Institute for Biosciences and Biotechnology Research (IBBR) at the University of Maryland College Park, Shady Grove campus in Rockville, Maryland. Our laboratories are fully equipped to meet our synthesis and analysis need for a robust drug discovery and development program. The facilities include fully equipped medicinal chemistry space (3,000 sq.ft) with adequate bench space and five fume hoods dedicated to the program. The laboratory contains, amongst others, rotary evaporators, vacuum pumps, chromatographic equipment, infrared spectrometers, Parr hydrogenators, analytical and large-scale balances. Major equipment include: 400 and 600 MHz NMR, with multinuclear probe capability, LC/MS and LC/MS/MS, microwave synthesizer (Milestone START), fully automated HPLC systems (analytical and preparative), CombiFlash Rf-200 automated Flash Chromatography System, Autopol III – dual wavelength automatic polarimeter, FTIR Infrared spectrometer (Perkin Elmer 1600 series) and high resolution mass spectrophotometer (MS/HRMS). We also have access to other equipment at National Institute of Standards and Technology located in the Shady Grove Campus.

The medicinal chemists within the CBT work together with the Computer Aided Drug Design (CADD) center and other medicinal chemists within the School of Pharmacy (SOP). Thus the efficient design of inhibitors, searches of structurally related compounds (SAR by catalogue), and virtual screening capabilities are done via CADD in conjunction with syntheses efforts from the MC section.

Capabilities

• Hit to lead medicinal chemistry
• Synthesis of research and proprietary compounds
• Rational design and synthesis of new molecules
• Lead optimization employing SAR
• Medicinal chemistry

Contact Us

Vincent C.O. Njar, PhD
618 W. Baltimore Street,
HSF-I, Room 5901
Baltimore, MD 21222
vnjar001@umaryland.edu