Dr Adrian Moore

My academic specialism is in the development of new drug entities, the study of their mode of action and metabolic pathways, and associated toxicological implications. I currently teach fundamental and applied pharmaceutical sciences across a suite of undergraduate and postgraduate courses in the Faculty, wherever possible integrating this science base to rationalise pharmaceutical care and management of patients and inform patient safety considerations and implications.

I am able to offer projects in areas related to my current research interests in drug development candidates.

I have a background in organic chemistry and have worked in both academia and industry. I have acted as Director of Studies for post-doctoral workers, PhD students and MPhil students and contributed to over 70 publications in peer reviewed journals, four chapters in major edited works and one patent.

Current research areas of interest involve aspects of heterocyclic and organosulfur chemistry; in particular:

(a) The synthesis of natural product analogues with potential use in treatment of, for example (i) neurodegenerative diseases (development of nicotinic receptor agonist, secretase enzyme inhibitors), (ii) pain, opiate addiction and smoking cessation (development of nicotinic receptor agonists/antagonists), (iii) depression (development of melatonin receptor agonist and serotonin receptor antagonists), and (iv) anti-cancer activity (synthesis of analogoues of marine derived pyrrolo, pyridino and quinolino-alkaloids and investigation of their cytotoxic activity, particularly topoisomerase I and II inhibition). Pre-clinical pharmacological investigations.

(b) Synthesis of novel supramolecular systems containing covalently and conjugatively linked redox systems (use as potential electron transfer catalysts as mimics of biological redox processes).

(c) Synthesis of dendrimers bearing macrocycle receptors coupled to redox centres to afford supported redox-active molecular recognition units (use as electron transfer catalysts as mimics of biological redox processes and for studies on dynamics of metal cation transport at membrane surfaces).

(d) Metal aggregates of ligating donor atom rich ligands as complexing agents for alkali metals, p- and d-block elements (use in metal ion transport through membranes and uptake and release processes in living organisms).