The Department of Chemistry

Research Interests

Nature is a superb organic chemist, ingeniously assembling biologically active organic molecules of incredible complexity, as such, my research interests are in the broad area of Natural Products Chemistry and Research. My focus is on bioprospecting, discovery and development of novel and innovative small molecules as drug leads and functional ingredients from the underexplored biodiversity of Trinidad and Tobago for commercial applications in the pharmaceutical, agrochemical, cosmetic and food industries. 

My specific research interest include investigating natural product based compounds and their synthetic derivatives for anticancer, antidiabetic, antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-insecticidal activities. A bioassay-guided investigative approach is utilized and is aimed at supporting the discovery of promising lead compounds by using biological assays to detect agents that show novel activity against selected targets. Structural modifications using modern organic synthetic techniques enable the generation of analogues with the goal of designing new compounds with improved pharmacokinetic properties, reduced toxicity and increased potency and efficacy against the targets of interest. Selective transformations, investigation of structure/activity relationships (SAR) of these analogues and creation of compound libraries facilitate the design of compounds with optimized properties.

Other research interests include exploring agrochemicals from natural sources against insects and pests of national concern, and design and synthesis of novel chalcone derivatives with antimicrobial and antioxidant activities.

Publications

K. Eccles, Y. L. Powder-George, F. K. Mohammed, A. Khan. “Efficacy of Artocarpus altilis (Parkinson) Fosberg extracts on contact mortality, repellency, oviposition deterrency and fumigant toxicity of Callosobruchus maculatus (F.) (Coleoptera:Bruchidae)” International Journal of Pest Management 2019, 65, 72-78.

Y. L. Powder-George, L. Salandy, F. K. Mohammed, A. Khan. “Bioactivity of Clusia palmicida leaf and fruit extracts against cowpea weevil Callosobruchus maculatus (Fab.) (Coleoptera:Bruchidae)” Journal of Biologically Active Products from Nature 2018, 8, 247-254.

M. Seepersaud, A. Ramkissoon, S. Seecharan, Y. Powder-George, F. K. Mohammed. “Environmental monitoring of heavy metals and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Sargassum filipendula and Sargassum vulgare along the eastern coastal waters of Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies” Journal of Applied Phycology 2018, 30, 2143-2154.

Y. L. Powder-George, F. K. Mohammed. “GC-MS analysis of the bioactive phytoconstituents of various organic crude extracts from the seed kernels of Manilkara bidentata (balata) collected in Trinidad, W.I.” Natural Product Research 2018, 32, 358-361.

Y. L. Powder-George. “Luteolin-7-O-Glycosides from the Leaves of Centropogon cornutus (Campanulaceae)” Natural Products Chemistry & Research 2017, 5: 271.

R. A. Aitken, J. Bouquet, J. Frank, A. L. G. Gidlow, Y. L. Powder, R. S. Ramsewak, W. F. Reynolds. “Isolation, structure determination and synthesis of a trichlorodihydroxybibenzyl from a terrestrial plant” RSC Advances, 2013, 3, 7230-7232.

J. H. Frank, Y. L. Powder-George, R. S. Ramsewak, W. F. Reynolds. “Variable-temperature 1H-NMR studies on two C-glycosylflavones” Molecules, 2012, 17, 7914-7926.

Y. Powder-George, J. Frank, R. S. Ramsewak, W. F. Reynolds. “The Use of Coupled HSQC Spectra to Aid in Stereochemical Assignments of Molecules with Severe Proton Spectral Overlap” Phytochemical Analysis, 2012, 23, 274-277.