Spider Venoms

Anticancer Potential of Spider Venom. - Antimicrobial Peptides in Spider Venoms. - Antimicrobial, Insecticides, Analgesics, and Hyalurodinases from the Venom Glands of Brachypelma Spiders. - Bioecology of Spiders with Emphasis in Spiders of Public Health Importance. - Hippasa Spider, Biology, Envenomation, Toxin Profiles, Biological Functions: A Review. - Identifying Insect Protein Receptors Using an Insecticidal Spider Toxin. - In Silico Modeling of Spider Toxins: Bioinformatics, Molecular Docking, and Molecular Dynamics. - Loxosceles and Loxoscelism: Biology, Venom, Envenomation and Treatment. - Pain-Modulating Peptides in Spider Venoms: Good and Evil. - Peptidom and Transcriptom Analysis of the Toxin-Like Peptides in the Venom Glands of Tarantula Grammostola Rosea. - Phoneutria nigriventerVenom and Toxins: A Review. - Phoneutria nigriventer Venom: Action in the Central Nervous System. - Recent Insights in Latrodectus ("Black Widow" Spider) Envenomation: Toxins and Their Mechanisms of Action. - Spider Transcriptomes from Venom Glands: Molecular Diversity of Ion Channel Toxins and Antimicrobial Peptide Transcripts. - Spider Venom and Drug Discovery: A Review. - Structural Diversity and Basic/Acidic Residue Balance of Active Cysteine-Rich Insecticidal Peptides from Spiders. - Studying the Excitatory and Inhibitory Neurotransmissions with Spider Venoms. - The Non-peptide Low Molecular Mass Toxins from Spider Venoms. - The Venom from Lasiodora sp.: A Mygalomorph Brazilian Spider. - The Venom of Australian Spiders. - Venom of Cupiennius salei (Ctenidae)

Prof P. Gopalakrishnakone is a world leader in the characterization of the structure and function of animal and plant toxins and chemical poisons, which contain highly specific and biologically active components. He has contributed significantly to the body of knowledge regarding the anatomy of snake venom glands and the development of drug candidates from animal toxins.

Prof Gopal pioneered the development of the NUS Venom and Toxin Research Programme, which has put NUS at the forefront of toxin research internationally. The technology platform that has been built over the years under the Venom and Toxin Research Programme, coupled with its extensive library of protein and peptides, has enabled Prof Gopal and his team to complete the discovery process of lead candidates in time and to transfer valuable supplementary information to the next discovery steps involving profiling and optimization of lead candidates. The objective is to characterize the venom components and natural toxins at a molecular level and identify promising compounds amenable to the development of novel human therapeutics. Prof Gopal's lab has identified over twenty peptides with unique medical indications from venom-based proteins with some already under development as therapeutics.

Prof Gopal's research studies includes structure function studies (toxin detection, biosensors, antitoxins and neutralization factors), toxicogenomics and expression studies, antimicrobial peptides from venoms and toxins and PLA2 inhibitors as potential drug candidate for inflammatory diseases. The techniques he employs include quantum dots to toxinology, computational biology, microarrays and protein chips. He has patented analgesic peptide, anti inflammatory peptide as well as anti rheumatoid arthritis peptides. He is exploring various possibilities of delivery systems for these peptides to target sites and administration of these peptides orally, transdermally, ocular and injections.

Prof Gopal has over