New Medicines from Inorganic Chemistry for Health Problems
Using Inorganic Chemistry to Understand and Solve Health-Related Problems
This research explores how special chemical compounds, called inorganic compounds, can create new medicines to help people with conditions like carbon monoxide poisoning and leishmaniasis.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California Santa Cruz NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Santa Cruz, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11117123 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
This project aims to discover new ways to treat diseases by using the unique properties of inorganic compounds, which are different from traditional organic medicines. Researchers believe that these compounds can solve health problems that current medicines cannot address. Specifically, the team is working to develop an antidote for carbon monoxide poisoning, which currently lacks a fast-acting treatment. They are also seeking to better understand how antimony-containing drugs work against leishmaniasis, a tropical disease, to improve their effectiveness.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: This foundational research is not directly recruiting patients at this stage, but future clinical trials stemming from this work would likely seek individuals suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning or leishmaniasis.
Not a fit: Patients without carbon monoxide poisoning or leishmaniasis would not directly benefit from the specific treatments being developed in this particular research.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to the first effective antidote for carbon monoxide poisoning and improve treatments for leishmaniasis, offering new hope for patients with these conditions.
How similar studies have performed: While the overall approach of using inorganic chemistry for these specific problems is novel, the research group has already gathered initial proof-of-principle data for a small-molecule platform to address carbon monoxide poisoning.
Where this research is happening
Santa Cruz, United States
- University of California Santa Cruz — Santa Cruz, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Johnstone, Timothy Charles — University of California Santa Cruz
- Study coordinator: Johnstone, Timothy Charles
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.