New Chemotherapeutic Approaches for the Treatment of Parasitic Protozoan Diseases
type: CreativeWork
description: The overall objective of this research is to develop new chemotherapeutic approaches for the treatment of parasitic protozoan diseases. The work presented in this thesis focuses on the design, synthesis, and screening (in vitro and in vivo) of bisphosphonates as a novel class of anti-parasitic agents. The infectious agents targeted in this study are Trypanosoma brucei, Trypanosoma cruzi, Toxoplasma gondii, Leishmania spp., and Plasmodium falciparum. These parasites are responsible for African sleeping sickness, South American trypanosomiasis (Chagas' disease), toxoplasmosis, leishmaniasis, and malaria, respectively. The studies contained within this thesis were carried out in three main areas: (a) demonstration of selective anti-parasitic activity of bisphosphonates, (b) elucidation of molecular mechanism and identification of the molecular parasitic target of bisphosphonates, and (c) enhancement of bisphosphonate activity through rational drug design. All of the findings reported in this volume suggest that bisphosphonates appear to be a promising class of compounds for the development of new drugs effective in the treatment of parasitic diseases.
abstract: The overall objective of this research is to develop new chemotherapeutic approaches for the treatment of parasitic protozoan diseases. The work presented in this thesis focuses on the design, synthesis, and screening (in vitro and in vivo) of bisphosphonates as a novel class of anti-parasitic agents. The infectious agents targeted in this study are Trypanosoma brucei, Trypanosoma cruzi, Toxoplasma gondii, Leishmania spp., and Plasmodium falciparum. These parasites are responsible for African sleeping sickness, South American trypanosomiasis (Chagas' disease), toxoplasmosis, leishmaniasis, and malaria, respectively. The studies contained within this thesis were carried out in three main areas: (a) demonstration of selective anti-parasitic activity of bisphosphonates, (b) elucidation of molecular mechanism and identification of the molecular parasitic target of bisphosphonates, and (c) enhancement of bisphosphonate activity through rational drug design. All of the findings reported in this volume suggest that bisphosphonates appear to be a promising class of compounds for the development of new drugs effective in the treatment of parasitic diseases.
author: Martin, Michael Bernard
language: eng
keywords: Biology, Microbiology
date published: 2015-09-25T22:12:35Z
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:26:22Z
provider: University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/2142/84047