Author Description

Product Description This volume deals mainly with the specialized aspect of toxins and drug discovery. Man has been using natural resources especially plants to treat diseases from very early times in history of mankind. Although many drugs derived from plants and microbes have been discovered and being used in clinical practice, not many drugs have been developed from venoms and toxins although many laboratories worldwide are actively working on it. This volume describe some of the recent developments in this research area, such as snake venoms, conotoxins, bioinformatics in drug discovery from peptide toxins. About the Author Prof P. Gopalakrishnakone is a world leader in the characterization of the structure and function of animal and plant toxins and chemical poisons, which contain highly specific and biologically active components. He has contributed significantly to the body of knowledge regarding the anatomy of snake venom glands and the development of drug candidates from animal toxins. Prof Gopal pioneered the development of the NUS Venom and Toxin Research Programme, which has put NUS at the forefront of toxin research internationally. The technology platform that has been built over the years under the Venom and Toxin Research Programme, coupled with its extensive library of protein and peptides, has enabled Prof Gopal and his team to complete the discovery process of lead candidates in time and to transfer valuable supplementary information to the next discovery steps involving profiling and optimization of lead candidates. The objective is to characterize the venom components and natural toxins at a molecular level and identify promising compounds amenable to the development of novel human therapeutics. Prof Gopal’s lab has identified over twenty peptides with unique medical indications from venom-based proteins with some already under development as therapeutics.Prof Gopal’s research studies includes struct