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.
The one-pot reagent toolbox, orthogonal protection logic and our API routes are presented in the interactive 3D research tour ↓
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.
C-glycosylation, C–H activation, radical and photoredox methods, and ring-conversion strategies, published across leading synthesis journals.
From sugar to medicine: an interactive walk through the group's process chemistry and drug-discovery leads, built around rotatable 3D molecular models. Drag a molecule to rotate it, hold Ctrl/⌘ and scroll to zoom, and use Next / Back (or the arrow keys after clicking the tour) to move through the slides.
Presented at ESTIC 2026, Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, 27–29 October 2026. Molecular animations are schematic.
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.
One Institute fellowship for candidates qualified through GATE / NET-LS / NET-PhD, to work on synthetic carbohydrate chemistry, methodology and medicinal-chemistry lead generation.
Two positions for candidates holding their own CSIR-JRF, UGC-JRF or DST-INSPIRE fellowship, 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.
Participation as Bose Institute faculty in national policy-making brainstorming sessions.
Moments from the lab, conferences and group life.
Recent lectures, talks, visits and outreach.
“Visible Light-Promoted Pd-Catalyzed Synthesis of β-Glycosyl Ester from N-Hydroxyphthalimide Ester and Glycosyl Bromide” (R. Das, J. Basumatary, B. G. Roy, D. Mukherjee and T. Kundu) was accepted in Chem. Commun. and published online as an Accepted Manuscript on 3 October 2026. A Pd(PPh3)2Cl2/Xantphos system under blue-LED irradiation couples glycosyl bromides with N-hydroxyphthalimide (NHPI) esters to give β-glycosyl esters. Instead of serving as alkyl-radical precursors, the NHPI esters release an acyloxy unit that is captured at the anomeric centre before fragmentation, forming a C–O rather than a C–C bond. A collaboration with Dr. Taraknath Kundu’s group (NIT Sikkim) and Sikkim University.
On 11 September 2026, Prof. Mukherjee participated in a high-level brainstorming session on the prioritisation of research areas for Ayush–DST collaboration, organised by the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences – National Institute of Indian Medical Heritage (CCRAS-NIIMH), Hyderabad. He delivered a talk as DST collaborator on identifying adulterants and substitutes in crude drug samples and integrative technology for harvesting practices based on Ayush principles, showing how natural-product chemistry (marker isolation, reference standards and marker-window mapping) can make harvest quality objective. He also contributed inputs to the technical-session deliberations and was felicitated at the event. Held under the guidance of Dr A. Raghu, Advisor (Ayurveda), Ministry of Ayush; Prof. (Vaidya) Rabinarayan Acharya, Director General, CCRAS; and Dr N. Srikanth, Deputy Director General, CCRAS, the meeting brought together scientists from the Department of Science & Technology (DST) and the Ayush research councils, including Dr Rashmi Sharma, Scientist F, DST, and Dr Subhash Kaushik, Director General, CCRH.
The technical session, to which he contributed, focused on good agricultural and harvesting practices, simple quality-assurance techniques, practical methods for detecting adulteration, and integrating drug-discovery approaches into the Ayush system, with the aim of charting concrete avenues for joint DST–Ayush research. The day closed with a medico-historical tour of the Institute's museum and library.
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.
