Adel Nefzi

Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, USA

Title: Combinatorial Chemistry and Drug Discovery. Diversity Oriented Synthesis of Low Molecular Weight Acyclic and Heterocyclic Compounds from Resin Bound Polyamides. Application in Drug Discovery

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Biography

The last two decades has witnessed major breakthroughs in the identification of genes, gene products, metabolic pathways, and signaling pathways, as well as progress in miniaturization and robotics, enabling the development of high-throughput mechanism-based biological assays. One of the central objectives of organic and medicinal chemistry is the design, synthesis, and production of molecules having value as human therapeutic agents. Our research group is interested in the design, synthesis, analysis, conformations, dynamics and structure-biological activity relationships of diverse nitrogen heterocycles of different ring sizes. Diaza- and triaza-cyclic compounds with different substitution patterns and embedded in various molecular frameworks constitute important structure classes in the search for bioactivity. The compounds are designed to follow known drug-likeness rules including “Lipinski’s Rule of Five”.  Examples of the synthesis of heterocyclic peptidomimetic libraries from Resin-bound Polyamides and the application of combinatorial chemistry for the identifiaction of highly active compounds will be presnted.

Research Interest

Nefzi obtained his Ph.D. in Chemistry in 1995 from the University of Lausanne in Switzerland. Dr. Nefzi is currently a full member and director of chemistry at Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies (TPIMS) in Port Saint Lucie, Florida, and Research Professor at Florida International University (FIU) working in the design and the synthesis of small molecules and heterocyclic combinatorial libraries and their application in drug discovery. All of the libraries prepared are being made available to the scientific community through the Institute Biological Outreach Program for the identification of new hits as first steps of an optimal “design and selection” process for lead optimization for the development of new drugs(www.tpims.org). Dr. Nefzi has more than 140 publications in many outstanding journals, numerous lectures at scientific symposia and ten issued US patents.  Dr. Nefzi is also, an adjunct professor at Florida Atlantic University. He is a member of American Chemical Society, member of American Peptide Society, member of American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists and member of Fluorine Chemistry Society.