What have you been up to during the covid-19 lockdown? The battle of attrition between headspace and work routine has exhausted many, but motivated others. To err on the side of caution while staying home is surely safer for the body, but it has left the mind and the intellect unfulfilled. During this time, Rimsha Irfan and Shikufa Mousavi, who are SProj students of Dr. Rahman Shah Zaib Saleem, ventured out on an intellectual pursuit of fulfillment to gather literature on 300+ magical molecules known as Chalcones.

Initially led by Rimsha, the effort soon saw Shikufa join in. They worked to find and assemble a detailed literature on Chalcones, a family of plant derived compounds that are famous for their diverse application portfolio. Their effort culminated in the form of the publication of a review article titled “A Comprehensive Review of Aminochalcones”, in the open access journal Molecules. Structured like two rings attached with a thin bridge, Chalcones find important health applications in anti-cancer, antiviral, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant immunomodulation.

So, what have you been up to during the covid-19 lockdown?

The work of Rimsha and Shikufa can be seen here for further reading:

Irfan, Rimsha; Mousavi, Shikufa; Alazmi, Meshari; Saleem, Rahman S.Z. 2020. "A Comprehensive Review of Aminochalcones." Molecules 25, no. 22: 5381. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25225381