Yan Zhang, Ph.D. Assistant Professor in Medicinal Chemistry yzhang2@vcu.edu (804)828-0021 Smith Bldg. Room 534 Lab Web Page (under construction)

Design, synthesis and biological activity study of some potential antagonists of chemokine receptor CCR5; Rational design, synthesis and characterization of non-peptide selective mu opioid receptor antagonists as pharmacological probes; Natural product chemistry; Molecular modeling application in rational drug design and G-protein coupled receptor structure characterization.

Selected Publications

Sarika P. Haris, Yan Zhang, Bertrand Le Bourdonnec, Christopher R. McCurdy, Philip S. Portoghese. O-Naphthalenedicarboxaldehyde Derivative of 7'-Aminonaltrindole as a Selective delta-Opioid Receptor Affinity Label. J. Med. Chem., 2007, 50, 3392-6.

Guo Li, Karen Watson, Robert W. Buckheit and Yan Zhang. Total Synthesis of Anibamine, a Novel Natural Product as Chemokine Receptor CCR5 Antagonist. Organic Letters, 2007, 9, 2043-2046.

Guo Li, Yan Zhang. Stereoselective Synthesis of the Two Major Metabolites of Spironolactone, 3a- and 3b-Hydroxy-7a-methylthio-17a-pregn-4-ene-21,17-carbolactone. Steroids, 2007, 72, 569-572.

Yan Zhang, Christopher R. McCurdy, Thomas G. Metzger, Philip S. Portoghese. Specific Cross-Linking of Lys233 and Cys235 in the Mu Opioid Receptor by a Reporter Affinity Label. Biochemistry, 2005, 44, 2271.

Yan Zhang, Yuk Y. Sham, Ramkumar Rajamani, Jiali Gao, Philip S. Portoghese. Homology Modeling and Molecular Dynamics Simulations of the Mu Opioid Receptor Built in a Membrane-Aqueous System. ChemBioChem, 2005, 6, 853-859.

Stephen D. Mague, Andrea M. Pliakas, Mark S. Todtenkopf, Hilarie C. Tomasiewicz, Yan Zhang, William C. Stevens, Robert M. Jones, Philip S. Portoghese, and Willaim A. Carlezon Jr. Antidepressant–Like Effects of kappa-Opioid Receptor Antagonists in the Forced Swim Test in Rats. J. Pharm. Expt. Ther. 2003, 305(1), 323.

Christopher R. McCurdy, Bertrand Le Bourdonnec, Thomas G. Metzger, Rachid El Kouhen, Yan Zhang, Ping Y. Law, Philip S. Portoghese. Naphthalene Dicarboxyaldehyde Derivatives as Opioid Receptor Reporter Affinity Labels with Greatly Improved Fluorogenic Properties. J. Med. Chem. 2001, 45, 2887.

Wensheng Yu, Yan Zhang, Zhendng Jin. Synthetic Studies of Antitumor Marine Natural Products Superstolides A and B. Construction of C20-C26 Fragment of Superstolide A. Organic Letters, 2001, Vol.3, No.10, 1447.

Yan Zhang, Hushan Yuan, Zhitang Huang, Jinwei Zhou, Yuji Kawanishi, Juergen Schatz, Gerhard Maas. A p-tert-butylcalix[6]arene Capped with a Triethanolamine-derived Triple Bridge. Tetrahedron, 2001, 57, 4161.

Hu-Shan Yuan, Yan Zhang, Yan-Jun Hou, Xiang-Yu Zhang, Xiao-Zheng Yang, and Zhi-Tang Huang. The Synthesis and Conformational Studies of Chiral Calix[6]arene Derivatives Bearing Amino Acid Ester Residues. Tetrahedron, 2000, 56, 9611.

Jinwei Zhou, Yuji Kawanishi, Yan Zhang, Hushan Yuan, Zhitang Huang. Polytopic Coreceptor from Conformationally Stabillized Calix[6]arene for Alkali Metal Ions. Chemistry Lett. 1999, 345.

Yan Zhang, Mei-Xiang Wang, Dong Wang and Zhitang Huang. Advances in Organometallic Reactions in Aqueous Media. Progress in Chemistry, 11(4), 394, 1999.

Yan Zhang, Yun-Zhen Jiang and Xiao-Tian Liang. A Novel Example of Hetero-Diels-Alder Reaction. Chinese Chemical Letters, Vol.9, No.8, 705, 1998.

Yan Zhang, Yun-Zhen Jiang. From Indomethacin to Ketorolac---The Structure Evolution of Arylacetic Acids as Antiinflammatory and Analgesic Agents. Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica, 32(4): 318 (1997).

Yan Zhang, Yun-Zhen Jiang and Xiao-Tian Liang. A New Variant of Knorr's Pyrrole Synthesis. Chinese Journal of Chemistry, Vol.15, No.4, 371, 1997.

Yan Zhang, Yun-Zhen Jiang and Xiao-Tian Liang. The Synthesis of 1-(4-(N-methylsulfamylmethyl)phenyl-4-ethoxycarbonyl-2-methyl-pyrrole. A New Method of Pyrrole Synthesis. Chinese Chemical Letters, Vol. 7, No. 10, 900, 1996.