Senior Lecturer · UiTM · AuRIns

Dr. Syahrul Imran
Abu Bakar

Synthetic organic & medicinal chemist designing bioactive heterocyclic scaffolds and probing enzyme inhibition at the molecular roots of disease.

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126Scopus Documents
38Scopus h-index
3,542Scopus Citations
3,982Google Scholar Citations

About

Driven by curiosity,
guided by chemistry.

I am a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), and a Fellow at the Atta-ur-Rahman Institute for Natural Product Discovery (AuRIns), Puncak Alam Campus.

I completed my PhD in 2016, publishing over 16 journal articles during candidacy and earning the Anugerah Tuanku Canselor — UiTM's highest graduation honour. After a postdoctoral stint at AuRIns, I joined the Faculty of Applied Sciences as Senior Lecturer.

My research combines classical bench chemistry with modern computational drug discovery to identify potent leads against metabolic, neurodegenerative, and infectious diseases.

  • Heterocyclic synthesis: bisindolylmethane, flavone, indole, oxadiazole, triazole, thiadiazole
  • Enzyme targets: α-glucosidase, β-glucuronidase, urease, AChE/BChE, CA-II, α-amylase, 15-LOX
  • Computational: AutoDock, QSAR, DFT, MD simulations, CYP3A4 modelling
  • Natural product isolation & bioactivity profiling
  • NMR-guided structural elucidation
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Universiti Teknologi MARA

Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Applied Sciences, UiTM Shah Alam. Fellow at AuRIns, Puncak Alam.

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Anugerah Tuanku Canselor (2016)

UiTM's highest graduation honour, awarded for outstanding academic and research achievement during PhD candidacy.

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h-index 38 · 126 Scopus Documents

3,542 Scopus citations · 3,982 Google Scholar citations across enzyme inhibition, heterocyclic chemistry, and computational drug discovery.

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Computational Drug Discovery

AutoDock, QSAR, DFT, MD simulations, and CYP3A4 classifier modelling fully integrated alongside experimental synthesis.

Research

Publications &
Focus Areas

Spanning synthetic chemistry, biological evaluation, and in silico modelling — discovering potent leads against metabolic and neurodegenerative diseases.

Enzyme Targets

Key inhibition targets across the research portfolio

α-Glucosidase
α-Amylase
Urease
AChE
BChE
CA-II
β-Glucuronidase
15-LOX
CYP3A4

Key Scaffolds

🔷 Bisindolylmethane — antihyperglycemic, anticancer, antileishmanial

🌸 Flavone / Chalcone — α-glucosidase, CA-II, 15-LOX inhibition

🔵 Indole — urease, β-glucuronidase, α-amylase inhibition

Oxadiazole / Triazole — multi-target enzyme inhibition

🟤 Thiadiazole / Thiourea — urease, glycation, DPPH scavenging

2026

Oxindole Sulfonyl Derivatives as Potent α-Amylase and α-Glucosidase Inhibitors

Taha, M. et al. — Synthesis and molecular docking. Scientific Reports, 16(1), 2944.

α-Glucosidaseα-AmylaseOxindoleOpen Access
2025

Azinane–Amide-Coupled Triazoles as Anti-Enzymatic Agents

Munir, Z., Imran, S. et al. — Piperidine–triazole library vs AChE, BChE, urease. ACS Omega, 10(41), 48586.

AChE/BChETriazoleACS OmegaOpen Access
2025

N-(Substituted phenyl)-triazol-3-ylthio Acetamides as AChE Inhibitors

Ayub, M., Imran, S. et al. — Design, synthesis, computational studies. ACS Omega, 10(39), 45191.

AChETriazoleAlzheimer'sOpen Access
2022

Indole Analogues as Potent Urease Inhibitors — Synthesis, SAR & Docking

Imran, S. et al. — 22 analogues, IC₅₀ 0.60–30.90 μM, outperforming thiourea standard. J Biomol Struct Dyn, 40(18).

UreaseIndoleSAR
2016

Flavone Ethers as α-Glucosidase Inhibitors — In Vitro & Docking

Imran, S. et al. — New flavone series via nucleophilic substitution of 3'-hydroxyflavone. Chem Biol Drug Des, 87, 361–373.

Flavoneα-GlucosidaseDiabetes
2015

A Review of Bisindolylmethane as an Important Scaffold for Drug Discovery

Imran, S., Taha, M., Ismail, N.H. — Comprehensive pharmacological review. Curr Med Chem, 22(38).

ReviewBisindolylmethaneDrug Discovery

Teaching

Shaping the next
generation of scientists.

Making complex pharmacokinetic and chemical principles accessible, relevant, and engaging for pharmacy and applied science students.

CMT667

Pharmacokinetics

Advanced pharmacokinetic principles — ADME modelling, quantitative analysis, and clinical applications for postgraduate pharmacy students.

Medicinal Chemistry

Drug Design & SAR

Structure–activity relationships, lead optimisation, and the molecular basis of drug action bridging classical theory and rational drug design.

Chemistry

Organic Chemistry

Mechanism reactions involving carbonyl compounds. Application of Aldol, Claisen, Wittig, and Robinson Annulation reactions to form heterocyclic compounds.

Computational

Molecular Modelling

Practical training in molecular docking, virtual screening, and QSAR — equipping students with computational tools used in modern drug discovery.

Spectroscopy

Analytical Methods

NMR, mass spectrometry, and spectroscopic techniques for structural elucidation in synthetic and pharmaceutical research contexts.

Laboratory

AuRIns NMR Lab

High-field NMR spectroscopy supporting structural characterisation in medicinal chemistry, natural product research, and pharmaceutical analysis at UiTM.

🧲High-field NMR spectrometers (600 MHz & 500 MHz)
🔬¹H, ¹³C, DEPT, COSY, HMBC, HSQC experiments
📅Online instrument booking system
🤝Open access for internal & external researchers
📋Consultancy on NMR-guided structural elucidation
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AuRIns NMR Facility

Atta-ur-Rahman Institute for Natural Product Discovery
Universiti Teknologi MARA, Puncak Alam, Selangor

Visit aurins.uitm.edu.my ↗

Contact

Let's connect.

Whether you're a collaborator, student, or fellow researcher — reach out through any of the channels below.

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