- Phone:
- 765-455-9482
- Email:
- mohoss@iu.edu
- Campus:
- IU Kokomo
Hunt Hall (SM), Room 236D
Mohammad Hossain received a B.Sc. and M.Sc. degree in Chemistry from Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka, Bangladesh in 2000. He was awarded his Ph.D. degree in Organic Chemistry from the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada in 2007 working with Dr. M. Soledade C. Pedras. After completion of his Ph. D degree, Dr. Hossain joined as a Research Scientist in a biochemical company, Phenomenome Discoveries Inc. (PDI), Saskatoon, SK, Canada. In 2011, Dr. Hossain accepted a faculty position at the Asian University for Women (AUW), an international liberal arts university for women in South Asia, and subsequently moved to Chittagong, Bangladesh. In 2013, Dr. Hossain became a fixed term faculty of St. Cloud State University (SCSU), St. Cloud, MN, USA. After serving as an Assistant Professor for four years at SCSU, Dr. Hossain accepted a tenure-track faculty position at Indiana University Kokomo (IUK), Kokomo, Indiana in August 2017.
One of my major research interests is the design and synthesis of conjugated α,β-unsaturated ketones as candidate chemotherapeutic agents. These compounds have an exclusive or preferential affinity for reacting with thiols rather than with hydroxyl groups and amines.
Since the latter two groups but not thiols are found in nucleic acids, α,β-unsaturated ketones may be devoid of the genotoxic side effects of various anticancer drugs. In particular, recent emphasis has been placed on developing compounds containing the 1,5-diaryl-3-oxo-1,4-pentadienyl pharmacophore (Fig 1). This group permits sequential alkylation of thiols at the alkene carbon atoms. This successive attack may lead to tumour-selective toxicity since various studies revealed that after an initial chemical insult, some tumours are more sensitive to a further toxic effect than various nonmalignant cells.
Another interest of my research is to develop a new reaction methodology for synthesizing highly functionalized heterocyclic compounds using alkyne functionalization method (Fig 2).
Heterocyclic compounds represent a large group of biologically active compounds, which attract the attention of chemists from all around the world. In particular, the synthesis of functionalized benzofurans is an active area of research in the current literatures because of their remarkable biological activities in many natural products and pharmacophores in drug discovery. Although there are many published methodologies, the development of convenient, efficient, and atom economical synthetic methodologies for the rapid construction of the functionalized benzofurans is still highly desirable.
Indiana University Kokomo
765-453-2000