Abstract:
Cystic fibrosis is life threatening hereditary disorder in which the chloride channels present in
membrane becomes dysfunctional. Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator
genes produce CFTR protein that is responsible for the transport of chloride and sodium ion
across the membranes. CFTR consist of multiple domains i.e., transmembrane domain,
nucleotide binding domains and regulatory domain. There are multiple Mutations in CFTR
gene lead to the defective ion exchange affecting the multiple organs.
The K95Q mutation in the CFTR is a Class IV mutation which is characterized by reduced
chloride conduction across the membrane. Three FDA approved drugs Ivacaftor, Tezacaftor
and Elexacaftor, that are being used for the treatment of G551D and F508 mutations, are
selected as a possible treatment for K95Q mutation. Bioinformatics and computational
software were used for the molecular docking, visualization, and analysis of the drug ligands
interactions with both wildtype and mutant CFTR with K95Q mutation.
Furthermore, silica nanoparticles were extracted from Karakoram clay in order to get some
insight into their diagnostic potential. They were characterized through SEM and FTIR. Silica
solution was then mixed with NaCl solution to determine the adsorptive properties of SiNPs.
The amount of Chloride ions adsorbed was later determined through titration and the results
demonstrated that SiNPs have the capacity to adsorb chloride ions to themselves making it
possible for them to be used in diagnostic tools for CF and even in drug delivery of the drugs
observed in our in silico studies.
