In-silico discovery of potential anti-malarial drugs targeting pfATP6 using Artemisinin as a model

Abstract

Malaria is one among the major reasons responsible for deaths worldwide than any other parasitic disease.
Due to the emergence of strains that are resistant to the current chemotherapeutic antimalarial arsenal, the search for new antimalarial drugs remains urgent though hampered by a lack of knowledge regarding the molecular mechanisms of artemisinin resistance.
In this study, pfATP6 is used as a target to come up with different compounds that have high binding affinity to it. Artemesinin constitutes the frontline treatment to aid rapid clearance of parasitaemia and quick resolution of malarial symptoms. Artemesinin, which is the current anti-malarial, has some drawbacks like low bioavailability which makes it even more necessary to develop more effective anti-malarial drugs.