PROF. KSENIA SZMIGIEL-BAKALARZ WINS FUNDING FOR RESEARCH ACTIVITY AT NSC

We are pleased to announce that dr inż. Ksenia Szmigiel-Bakalarz from the Faculty of Science & Technology has become another winner of the MINIATURA 9 competition organised by the National Science Centre.

The amount of funds received to finance the scientific activity entitled "Molecular docking of Pt(II) and Pd(II) complexes to DNA and proteins – analysis of the mechanism of anticancer action" is PLN 20,073.

The planned scientific activity is an important complement to the research conducted so far on platinum(II) and palladium(II) complexes with 7-azindole-3-carboaldehyde derivatives, which show promising anti-cancer properties.

The aim of this research activity is to apply molecular docking methods to investigate potential ways of binding these compounds to biological targets, such as DNA and selected enzymes (e.g. topoisomerases I and II), which may play a key role in the mechanism of their anticancer activity.

This research will be carried out as part of a research internship in the Structure and Dynamics of Macrosystems Group at the Faculty of Chemistry of the University of Wroclaw. The results obtained will allow for a better understanding of the observed differences in the biological activity of the studied complexes, resulting from the presence of different substituents in the ligand structure. These results will also contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms of action of these compounds and enable more rational design of new noble metal complexes as potential anticancer drugs.

The Grant Application Support Office was involved in the formal and administrative development of the application.