Education:
Doctorate from University of Illinois Medical Center, Chicago (1994)| Postdoctoral stints at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, USA and at Max-Planck-Institute for experimentelle Medizin, Goettingen, Germany.
Fellowship Type:
National J. C. Bose Fellowship
Research:
Nucleobase polymers:, We have recently introduced a novel paradigm for heterogeneous catalyst design by developing polymeric templates based on 9-allyl/9-(4-vinylbenzyl) nucleobase frameworks. These insoluble templates, when coordinated to metal ions, display significant rate enhancements for the hydrolysis of activated phosphate esters, confirm to classical Michaelis-Menten kinetics with high turnover numbers. Interestingly, one copper-containing adenylated template displayed a remarkable enzyme-like activity of oxygen insertion between an aromatic C-H bond, an activity reminiscent of hydroxylase/oxidase protein enzymes that catalyze biosynthesis of tyrosine and catecholamines. We are currently applying the knowledge of nucleobase polymer catalysis to other interesting chemical and biochemical reactions. A representative example of the design of polymeric matrix is shown underneath., Metal-nucleobase interactions:, Nucleic acids offer a versatile platform for metal ion coordination resulting in stabilization of higher order superstructures. The constituent heterocyclic nucleobases are bestowed with suitably predisposed metal ion binding sites, which are invoked for the generation of interesting supramolecular structural paradigms. The occurrence of nucleic acid/nucleobase architectures also holds great significance in the cellular milieu where motifs such as guanine(G)-quartets and adenosine platforms, are implicated for a variety of biological functions. We recently reported that 9-allyladenine afforded a 3N coordinated, silver tethered macrocyclic tetraplex, which exhibited aggregative ordering on graphite surface and luminescent properties. This unusual coordination mode, resemblance to biological purine quartets and the presence of silver-mediated helical motifs represents an interesting example of metal-nucleobase interaction, with possible application for the construction of architectures mimicking biological assemblies and metal-organic frameworks.
Awards and Honours:
2010 Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize (Chemical Sciences), 2013 Prof R C Mehrotra Commemorative Lecture Gold Medal, Indian Science Congress Centenary Session, 2012 DAE-SRC Outstanding Investigator Award, Department of Atomic Energy, India, 2010 Fellow, National Academy of Sciences, India, Swarnajayanti Fellowship (2005)
List of Publications:
N. Nagapradeep, S. Sharma, Sandeep Verma. Ion channel-like crystallographic signatures in modified guanine-potassium/sodium interactions. Cryst. Growth Des. 2013 (DOI: 10.1021/cg3016518).|S. Mondal, A. K. Barman, Sandeep Verma. Peptide-based synthetic design, construction and morphology of soft structures. Chimia 2012, 66, 930-935 (Special issue of Chemistry in India).,S. Khanna, Sandeep Verma Crystallographic signatures of N-6-methoxyadenine imino tautomer-silver complexes. Cryst. Growth Des. 2012, 12, 3025-3035., P. Singh, C. Menard-Moyon, J. Kumar, B. Fabre, Sandeep Verma, A. Bianco. Nucleobase-pairing triggers the self-assembly of uracil-ferrocene on adenine functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes. Carbon 2012, 50, 3170-3177.
Telephone:
0512-259-7643 (O), 259-7962 (Lab)
