Professor, Department of Chemical Sciences · Bose Institute
Speaking the language of sugars — mild, one-pot strategies for orthogonal protection–deprotection and stereoselective bond formation in carbohydrate chemistry, applied to nucleosides, glycomimetics and life-saving APIs.
Building complex, bioactive sugars from simple chiral-pool precursors — the unifying focus of the group.
One-pot glycosylation, directing-group–assisted glycosylation and stereoselective C-disaccharide synthesis.
Tandem site-selective protection, C–H activation and domino sequences that do two orthogonal jobs in one flask.
Photoredox and metal-catalysed routes to C-nucleosides, 2-iodo nucleosides and aza-pseudouridine analogues.
Design and evaluation of glycoconjugates, semi-synthetic natural products and heterocyclic scaffolds as anticancer, anti-infective and anti-inflammatory leads.
Affordable, non-infringing syntheses of FDA-approved active pharmaceutical ingredients — carbohydrate-derived routes to Molnupiravir (COVID-19 therapy) and Dapagliflozin (antidiabetic), designed to avoid existing process patents.
Development of non-infringing routes for life-saving drugs — a mild orthogonally protected ribose donor gives N4-hydroxycytidine en route to Molnupiravir (overall 38%), and a stereoselective oxidative Mizoroki–Heck / syn-hydroboration sequence delivers aryl-β-glucopyranosides toward Dapagliflozin. Benzannulated macrocycles and medium rings assembled on sugar-derived chiral templates.
Transforming sugar enol ethers into chiral aromatic, heteroaromatic and fused bicyclic cores.
Photocatalyst-free and Ir/Pd photoredox strategies for glycal elimination and C-glycosylation.
Each inexpensive, often non-metal reagent performs two orthogonal jobs in the same flask.
Remove one group → free one OH → glycosylate that site → iterate toward branched, bioactive oligosaccharides.
Beyond methodology, the group designs and evaluates bioactive small molecules — glycoconjugates, semi-synthetic natural products and heterocyclic scaffolds — against cancer, infection and inflammation.
Semi-synthetic steroidal lactones acting through Par-4 and inducing premature senescence (p21); IC₅₀ 0.7–1.25 µM.
IKM5 modulates the GRP78 / Par-4 axis to suppress tumour growth, invasion and metastasis.
N-linked 3,3′-diindolylmethane glycoconjugates inhibit leishmanial topoisomerase IB with reduced cytotoxicity.
Montmorillonite-K10 route to trisindolines with strong anti-MRSA efficacy, membrane targeting and in-vivo activity.
Propargylated-tacrine glycoconjugates (A-1 to A-14) as mixed AChE inhibitors with reduced hepatotoxicity; A-1 IC₅₀ 0.4 µM.
AG-13 lowers neutrophil infiltration, MDA/GSH and IL-6/TNF-α in SARS-COVID-induced lung injury.
Tetrahydroanthracene antibiotics from a new Streptomyces curacoi source, active in a 4T1 mammary-carcinoma model.
N,N′-glycoside diindolylmethanes and dihydropyran macrolides selectively engaging PAR4 and PI3K-α.
Total synthesis of dihydropyran-based medium-ring macrolides related to the aspergillides from carbohydrate templates, designed and evaluated as selective PI3K inhibitors.
Bioassay: the lead macrolide selectively inhibits the p110α subunit of PI3K and pAKT (not ERK), triggering PARP-1 / caspase-3 cleavage, G0/G1 cell-cycle arrest and mitochondrial apoptosis in HL-60 cells (IC₅₀ 1.10 µM).
C-glycosylation, C–H activation, radical and photoredox methods, and ring-conversion strategies, published across leading synthesis journals.
Two of the group's latest methodology advances (2025–26) in mild, sustainable carbohydrate protection and functionalisation.
A visible-light, photocatalyst-free 1,2-vic elimination converts 3-azido-glycosides directly into 4,6-O-protected glycals. An electron donor–acceptor (EDA) complex between triethylamine and the azido sugar absorbs blue light, undergoes single-electron transfer to a radical-ion pair, and fragments irreversibly — no metal, no photocatalyst. Fifteen examples in 90–95% yield, with the mechanism supported by control experiments, UV-vis and DFT.
This Organic Letters study reframes a routine protecting-group problem as an opportunity. Conventionally, unmasking the primary hydroxyl of a 4,6-O-benzylidene sugar and then acylating it is a multi-step, often low-selectivity sequence. Here a single operation does both: a catalytic solid acid (H₂SO₄–SiO₂) opens the benzylidene (or isopropylidene) acetal while a simple ester — ethyl acetate, ethyl propionate, and the like — acts simultaneously as the acyl donor and the reaction solvent. The net result is a 6-O-acyl-4-O-H building block delivered directly from the acetal.
The method tolerates a broad range of anomeric groups and protecting patterns — 15 acceptors (4a–4o) in 70–90% yield — and extends cleanly to 2-amino sugars: primary-esterified D-glucosamine acceptors (6a–6e, 80–86%).
Crucially, the free C-4 hydroxyl left behind is a competent glycosyl acceptor: coupling with thioglycoside donor 16 (NIS/TfOH, −40 °C) furnishes β-(1→4) disaccharides 17a–17b, closing the loop from acetal to elaborated oligosaccharide.
A research family spanning faculty, industry scientists and postdoctoral fellows across India, Taiwan and Canada.
Two funded JRF positions for candidates with CSIR-UGC NET / GATE qualification, to work on synthetic carbohydrate chemistry, methodology and medicinal-chemistry lead generation.
One NPDF opening for a postdoctoral researcher (SERB-NPDF eligible) in glycochemistry, photoredox methods or carbohydrate-based drug discovery.
Core synthetic-chemistry infrastructure supporting the group's work — from low-temperature glycosylations to inert-atmosphere reactions.
Moments from the lab, conferences and group life.
Recent lectures, talks, visits and outreach.
Prof. Mukherjee took part in the Leadership Development Programme in Science & Technology (LEADS 2024), jointly organised by the Indian National Science Academy (INSA) and the National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG), held at NCGG, New Delhi, from 8–14 July 2024. The residential programme brought together scientists and academic leaders from across the country for sessions on leadership, governance and science management, concluding with the award of certificates of participation.
Prof. Mukherjee delivered a Distinguished Lecture, “Speaking the Language of Sugars: Mild One-Pot Strategies for Orthogonal Protection–Deprotection in Carbohydrate Chemistry,” at the Department of Medicinal Chemistry, IMS, Banaras Hindu University, drawing faculty and students from BHU and IIT (BHU). He also served as external examiner for the Ph.D. viva of Ms. Mittali Maheshwari (supervised by Dr. Nazar Hussain). The visit was a reunion with two former doctoral students — Dr. Nazar Hussain (BHU) and Dr. Deepak Kumar (IIT-BHU). He was felicitated by Prof. T. D. Singh, Prof. Alka Agarwal and Prof. Vinod K. Tiwari on behalf of ACCTI.
Prof. Mukherjee delivered a distinguished lecture as resource person in the PG Department of Chemistry at Berhampur University on 19 September 2025.
At the International Conference on Chemistry for Human Development (ICCHD-2025), held 4–6 January 2025 at the University of Calcutta (Rajabazar Campus), he spoke on “Effect on C-2 Carbonylation of Sugar Enol Ethers towards Altered Reactivities” — covering regioselective glycosylation challenges and how keto functionality alters monosaccharide reactivity toward 3-aryl-thio sugars and 1→1 / 1→3 S/O-linked disaccharides.
With Dr. Amit Kumar Paul, Prof. Mukherjee organised a one-day outreach on 14 January 2025 for 35 undergraduate chemistry students from St. Xavier’s College, Victoria Institution, Rammohan College and Vidyasagar College for Women. Students toured the Main Campus and J C Bose Museum, attended lectures by Prof. Anirban Bhunia and Prof. Shubhra Ghosh Dastidar, and visited the CIF (notably the NMR facility). The program was supported by two ANRF grants fulfilling the DST mandate of Social Scientific Responsibility.
Dr. Vladimir F. Lazarev (Institute of Cytology, Russian Academy of Sciences) delivered a lecture on “Chaperone-associated small-molecule inhibitors as anticancer drugs” on 15 January 2025. He explored future collaboration with the Mukherjee lab on small-molecule autophagy inhibitors as anticancer therapeutics.
