# Silanediol Enabled Drug Discovery

> **NIH NIH R35** · WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE · 2020 · $335,575

## Abstract

Abstract.
Drug resistance can be a major problem in cancer therapy. The effective treatment of resistant cancer cells
can be further complicated by deficiencies that inhibit the body’s own anticancer immune response. Naturally
occurring chromanones can inspire the development of drugs to better target cancer resistant cancers as they
can directly destroy cancer cells while simultaneously boosting the body’s own immune response. Despite their
promising activity, there is a critical barrier obstructing biological studies of chromanone-based bioactive
molecules. Specifically, there are limited synthetic strategies available to access these desirable targets for
biological testing. As a means to overcome this barrier, the long-term goal of our research programs is to
develop chemical technologies to synthesize chromanone-based therapeutic agents for biological studies.
Themes directing our investigations include: (i) developing catalytic tools to enable unique, enantioselective
heterocycle synthesis; (ii) streamlining access to heterocyclic bioactive targets; and (iii) exploring the biological
activities of naturally-occurring chromanones and their synthetic derivatives in the context of drug discovery.
This research plan is based on the central hypothesis that silanediol-catalysis is a unique chemical
technology enabling access to chromanones, and related structures, that are otherwise difficult to access. The
rationale for the proposed research is that the successful development of modular and efficient routes toward
chromanone-based natural products, and their derivatives, will enable biological studies of these promising
medicinal agents. This approach is innovative because it uses silanediol anion-binding technology to affect
pharmaceutically-attractive methodologies that are inaccessible with conventional catalysts. This contribution
will be significant as it will support the development of new therapeutic agents able to fight resistant cell
cancer lines through unique, dual, synergistic modes of action.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9972949
- **Project number:** 5R35GM124804-04
- **Recipient organization:** WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE
- **Principal Investigator:** Anita E Mattson
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $335,575
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-08-15 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9972949

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9972949, Silanediol Enabled Drug Discovery (5R35GM124804-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9972949. Licensed CC0.

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