Dejan S. Nikolic
Research Associate Professor, Center for Botanical Dietary Supplements
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Research Interests:
A. Analytical chemistry of natural products
Isolation and structure elucidation of natural products;
Studies of gas-phase fragmentation of natural products; development of methods to identify novel chemical entities from mass spectrometric data
Method development for quantitative LC-MS and LC-MS-MS analysis of biologically important natural products.
Quantitative LC-MS-MS method development for standardization of botanical extracts and support of clinical trials of natural products.
B. Natural products drug discovery and development
Pulsed ultrafiltration-mass spectrometry screening of combinatorial libraries and natural product extracts for ligands that bind to specific receptors.
In vitro metabolism of natural products using microsomal and hepatocytes preparations; structural characterization of metabolites using LC-MS-MS.
Bioavailability studies using Caco-2 cell line as a model system for intestinal absorption.
Preclinical lead evaluation: microsomal stability of natural products and drug candidates, studies of inhibition of CYP450 by natural constituents, CYP450 reaction phenotyping. Mechanism-based CYP450 inhibition.
Studies of bioactivation of drug candidates: characterization of glutathione and DNA adducts upon bioactivation by CYP450 and other metabolizing enzymes.
Teaching and Supervision Heading link
Biomedicinal Chemistry (PHAR 423), 1/9/2023 – 4/28/2023
Biomedicinal Chemistry (PHAR 423), 1/9/2023 – 4/28/2023
Spectroscopy in Pharm Sci (PSCI 531), 8/22/2022 – 12/2/2022
Honors Seminar (HON 201), 8/22/2022 – 12/2/2022
Biomedicinal Chemistry (PHAR 423), 1/10/2022 – 4/29/2022
Biomedicinal Chemistry (PHAR 423), 1/10/2022 – 4/29/2022
Spectroscopy in Pharm Sci (PSCI 531), 8/23/2021 – 12/3/2021
Honors Seminar (HON 201), 8/23/2021 – 12/3/2021
Biomedicinal Chemistry (PHAR 423), 1/11/2021 – 4/30/2021
Selected Grants
Botanical Dietary Supplements for Women's Health, National Institutes of Health (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)., 9/1/2015 - 6/30/2022, Obligated Amount: $9708015; Anticipated Amount: $12588944
Center for Natural Product Technologies at UIC, National Institutes of Health (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)., 9/1/2015 - 6/30/2020, Obligated Amount: $1456875; Anticipated Amount: $1456875
Botanical Dietary Supplements For Women's Health, National Institutes of Health (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)., 9/1/2010 - 8/31/2015, Obligated Amount: $7418005; Anticipated Amount: $7420771
Cytochrome P4502D6 and monoamine oxidase modulators from black cohosh (Actaea racemosa), UIC/NIH Center for Botanical Dietary Supplements Research, Pilot Project., 4/1/2008 - 3/31/2011, No Obligated Amount Set; No Anticipated Amount Set
Botanical Dietary Supplements for Research, National Institutes of Health (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)., 4/1/2005 - 8/31/2010, Obligated Amount: $5411505; Anticipated Amount: $5411505
Selected Publications
Molina, J, Nikolic, D, Jeevarathanam, JR, Abzalimov, R, Park, EJ, Pedales, R, Mojica, ERE, Tandang, D, McLaughlin, W, Wallick, K, Adams, J, Novy, A, Pell, SK, van Breemen, RB, Pezzuto, JM. (2022). Living with a giant, flowering parasite: metabolic differences between Tetrastigma loheri Gagnep. (Vitaceae) shoots uninfected and infected with Rafflesia (Rafflesiaceae) and potential applications for propagation. Planta, 255, (1). doi:10.1007/s00425-021-03787-x.
Malca-Garcia, GR, Liu, Y, Nikolić, D, Friesen, JB, Lankin, DC, McAlpine, JB, Chen, SN, Pauli, GF. (2022). Investigation of red clover (Trifolium pratense) isoflavonoid residual complexity by off-line CCS-qHNMR. Fitoterapia, 156. doi:10.1016/j.fitote.2021.105016.
Burton, TCJ, Lankin, DC, Nikolic, D, Guo, B, Ju, J, Dietz, BM, Che, CT, Soejarto, DD, van Breemen, RB. (2021). Isolation and elucidation of two isoflavonoids from an American Indian plant, Amorpha canescens Pursh, using Magnetic Microbead Affinity Selection Screening (MagMASS) for estrogen receptor alpha ligands. Phytochemistry Letters, 45, 110-116. doi:10.1016/j.phytol.2021.07.018.
Tang, Y, Friesen, JB, Nikolić, DS, Lankin, DC, McAlpine, JB, Chen, SN, Pauli, GF. (2021). Tandem of Countercurrent Separation and qHNMR Enables Gravimetric Analyses: Absolute Quantitation of the Rhodiola rosea Metabolome. Analytical Chemistry, 93, (34), 11701-11709. doi:10.1021/acs.analchem.1c01554.
Malca-Garcia, GR, Liu, Y, Dong, H, Nikolić, D, Friesen, JB, Lankin, DC, McAlpine, J, Chen, SN, Dietz, BM, Pauli, GF. (2021). Auto-hydrolysis of red clover as “green” approach to (iso)flavonoid enriched products. Fitoterapia, 152. doi:10.1016/j.fitote.2021.104878.
Tang, Y, Friesen, JB, Nikolić, DS, Lankin, DC, McAlpine, JB, Chen, SN, Pauli, GF. (2021). Silica Gel-mediated Oxidation of Prenyl Motifs Generates Natural Product-Like Artifacts. Planta Medica, 87, (12-13), 998-1007. doi:10.1055/a-1472-6164.
Mbachu, OC, Howell, C, Simmler, C, Malca Garcia, GR, Skowron, KJ, Dong, H, Ellis, SG, Hitzman, RT, Hajirahimkhan, A, Chen, SN, Nikolic, D, Moore, TW, Vollmer, G, Pauli, GF, Bolton, JL, Dietz, BM. (2020). SAR study on estrogen receptor α/β activity of (Iso)flavonoids: Importance of prenylation, c-ring (un)saturation, and hydroxyl substituents. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 68, (39), 10651-10663. doi:10.1021/acs.jafc.0c03526.
Tang, Y, Friesen, JB, Lankin, DC, McAlpine, JB, Nikolić, DS, Niemitz, M, Seigler, DS, Graham, JG, Chen, SN, Pauli, GF. (2020). Quantum Mechanics-Based Structure Analysis of Cyclic Monoterpene Glycosides from Rhodiola rosea. Journal of Natural Products, 83, (6), 1950-1959. doi:10.1021/acs.jnatprod.0c00212.
Malca Garcia, GR, Friesen, JB, Liu, Y, Nikolić, D, Lankin, DC, McAlpine, JB, Chen, SN, Pauli, GF. (2019). Preparation of DESIGNER extracts of red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) by centrifugal partition chromatography. Journal of Chromatography A, 1605. doi:10.1016/j.chroma.2019.05.057.
Education
Degrees:
Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry, University of Illinois at Chicago, United States, 1999
PharmD, University of Belgrade, Serbia, 1993