Dr Kenneth Laali, University of North Florida Presidential Professor of Chemistry, has recently been awarded a US patent for his research on the synthesis of novel curcumin analogs (curcuminoids) to fight cancer tumours.
The compounds that Laali has developed reportedly provide novel therapeutic opportunities for specific cancers and may also aid in the discovery of therapeutics for multiple diseases.
His patent discloses the synthesis and characterisation of diverse libraries of what he describes as “curcumin-inspired” compounds (CURs), and reports on their anti-tumour activity against a host of cancer cell lines. Through these studies, he and his research group synthesised and characterised over 120 compounds, and in the process discovered a number they say are effective not only in stopping cancer cell growth but also killing cancer cells and are therefore suitable for pre-clinical development.
The patent is the culmination of more than five years of Laali’s research at UNF with contributions by UNF undergraduates, master’s level research interns, and visiting scientists. His work has provided research opportunities for UNF students.
Laali hopes this patent, along with another one that is pending, could attract a pharmaceutical company for development of anti-cancer compounds and therapeutics.
Laali is the inventor of two other UNF patents. He has authored and co-authored more than 220 peer-reviewed publications, several books and monographs. Laali has been at UNF since 2009 and was the founding chair of the chemistry department. His research focuses on organic chemistry utilizing multifaceted projects that combine synthetic, structural/mechanistic, spectroscopic, and theoretical approaches to solving diverse problems in biological chemistry, green chemistry, and materials chemistry.
