Zeba Haque
Dow University of Health Sciences, Pakistan
Title: Design and synthesis of ultra sensitive peptidyl FRET substrates for medically important enzymes
Biography
Biography: Zeba Haque
Abstract
Pakistan is a high risk country for many diseases specially HIV, dengue, malaria, breast cancer etc. The major problem is the awareness and education about these diseases to common people. Poor medical facilities, expensive lab test and early diagnostic tools/techniques are the major hurdles in setting the mind of the people towards the proverb that "Prevention is better than cure". The main idea of this project is to design and synthesis of cost effective and ultra-sensitive peptidyl substrates for medically and diagnostically important enzymes. Ultra sensitivity will be achieved by Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) phenomenon. Available information on marker enzymes for malaria and tumor (only metalloproteases) and their possible substrates will be assessed. The susceptible scissile peptide bonds and their right and left neighbor amino acids will be observed to design short and ultra-sensitive substrates. Different combinations of fluorophore and quencher will be used to synthesize FRET substrates. The marker enzyme kinetic studies will be performed using newly designed and synthesized FRET substrates and their parameters will be compared to find ultra-sensitive substrate. Early diagnosis of disease using these substrates will not only prevent the people from dangerous diseases but also support the economy of the country.