Academic Scholarships:

• Scholarships from Khon Kaen University and Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University to perform a Ph.D. in the United Kingdom.
• Scholarships from Région Alsace and University of Strasbourg to perform a five-month internship in the United States of America.
• Thai government scholarships to perform B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in France.

Professional Experience:

• 2019 Visiting researcher conducting research on the purification and characterization of a galactose-binding lectin from rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox) venom for studying carbohydrate-protein interactions at School of Chemistry, University of Leeds, United Kingdom.
• 2007 Visiting scholar performing an internship on the binding of chlorophyllide derivatives by the apo-protein of a cyanobacterial globin: structural and spectroscopic properties at Pennsylvania State University, United States of America.
• 2005 Visiting scholar performing an internship on the synthesis of a selectively protected manno-thioglycoside donor at Department of Chemistry, Oxford University, United Kingdom.

Research Interests in Brief:

My research interest lies at the interface between chemistry and biology. Our aims are to: i) understand effectiveness of natural compounds in cancer and their molecular mechanisms using molecular biology and biophysics techniques; ii) design and develop new drug candidates and nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems; and (iii) create new biosensor platforms based on molecular recognition and specific interactions.

Detailed Profile:

I am a chemist by training who became fascinated by synthesizing designed molecules for biology and medicine. My long-standing interest has been in understanding the structures and functions of biomolecules and their interactions. I particularly am fascinated by how the specific binding of carbohydrate structures and carbohydrate binding proteins (i.e., lectins) can be involved in various vital biological processes in health and disease. My education backgrounds are as follows. I received a Bachelor’s degree in chemistry and a Master’s degree in chemistry-biology majoring in chemical biology and drug design from Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France. I obtained a scholarship from the Thai government to pursue the above mentioned degrees. During a summer vacation, to gain more experience in synthetic carbohydrate chemistry, I undertook a two-month work placement in the laboratory of Dr. Anthony Fairbanks at the Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, UK where I first experienced the field of synthetic glycoscience. Moreover, I had a five-month research internship which was a part of my Master’s program in the laboratory of Prof. Juliette Lecomte at the Department of Chemistry, the Pennsylvania State University, USA. There, I studied the structural and spectroscopic properties of a cyanobacterial globin on the binding with chlorophyllide derivatives. I conducted experiments using techniques for the production, isolation, and analysis of the recombinant proteins, followed by investigating the properties of proteins using NMR, CD, and optical spectroscopic techniques. After working as a lecturer in Thailand for 3 years, I returned to Europe and joined Prof. Bruce Turnbull’s research group to perform a Ph.D. at the School of Chemistry, University of Leeds, UK. It was here where I solidified my interest in synthetic carbohydrate chemistry and carbohydrate recognition. On one hand, I successfully synthesised and characterised various mono- and multivalent carbohydrates structures to be used as potential inhibitors for LOX-1 receptor, which is implicated in the initiation and development of atherosclerosis. On the other hand, successful synthetic routes to azide-appended mannose epitopes in form of mono- and disaccharides were developed. The compounds were attached to quantum dots to be used as multivalent probes for DC-SIGN receptor via Förster resonance energy transfer technique.

Currently, I am a lecturer at the Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Thailand. Teaching biochemistry to under- and postgraduate students broadens my understanding of the chemistry of life. In parallel, I and my colleagues have started a research project on evaluating anticancer properties of plant-derived compounds by means of molecular biology and biophysical techniques. For example, my reasech group utilized synchrotron FTIR microspectroscopy and molecular biology techniques (e.g., flow cytometry and western blot analysis) to reveal apoptosis-induced biomolecular changes of cholangiocarcinoma cells treated with ursolic acid. We are also interested in the synthesis of gold nanoparticles and carbon quantum dots for cancer diagnosis and therapy.

Postgraduate Research Opportunities:

Enquiries from motivated and qualified applicants from all around the world who are interested in MSc and PhD studies are welcome. We can discuss research projects and scholarships. Please contact me via schadamas@kku.ac.th.

Selected Publications

1. Maphanao P, Thanan R, Loilome W, Chio-Srichan S, Wongwattanakul M, Sakonsinsiri C*. Synchrotron FTIR microspectroscopy revealed apoptosis-induced biomolecular changes of cholangiocarcinoma cells treated with ursolic acid, Biochim. Biophys. Acta, Gen. Subj. 2020; 1864, 12, 129708.

2. Matulakul P, Vongpramate D, Kulchat S, Chompoosor A, Thanan R, Sithithaworn P, Sakonsinsiri C*, and Puangmali T*, Development of Low-Cost AuNP-Based Aptasensors with Truncated Aptamer for Highly Sensitive Detection of 8-Oxo-dG in Urine. ACS Omega. 2020; 5, 28, 17423–17430.

3. Choodeta C, Toomjeena P, Phanchaia W, Matulakula P, Thanan R, Sakonsinsiri C Theerapong P, Combined in silico and in vitro study of an aptasensor based on citrate-capped AuNPs for naked-eye detection of a critical biomarker of oxidative stress, RSC Adv. 2019; 9: 17592-17600 

4. Sakonsinsiri C*, Kaewlert K, Armartmuntree N, Thanan R, Pakdeechote P. Anti-cancer activity of asiatic acid against human cholangiocarcinoma cells through inhibition of proliferation and induction of apoptosis. Cell Mol Bio. 2018;64(10):28-33.

5. C. Sakonsinsiri and W. B. Turnbull. A chapter entitled “Protecting Groups at the Anomeric Position of Carbohydrates” in Protecting Groups: Strategies and Applications in Carbohydrate Chemistry, edited by S. Vidal, Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH, 2018.

6. Mahon CS, McGurk CJ, Watson SMD, Fascione MA, Sakonsinsiri C, Turnbull WB, Fulton DA. Molecular recognition-mediated transformation of single-chain polymer nanoparticles into crosslinked polymer films. Angew Chem Int Ed. 2017;56:12913-12918.

7. Guo Y, Nehlmeier I, Poole E, Sakonsinsiri C, Hondow N, Brown A, Li Q, Li S, Whitworth J, Li Z, Yu A, Brydson R, Turnbull WB, Pöhlmann S, Zhou D. Dissecting multivalent lectin-carbohydrate recognition using polyvalent multifunctional glycan-quantum dots. J Am Chem Soc. 2017;139:11833-11844.

8. Guo Y, Sakonsinsiri C, Nehlmeier I, Fascione MA, Zhang H, Wang W, Pöhlmann S, Turnbull WB, Zhou D. Compact, polyvalent mannose quantum dots as sensitive, ratiometric FRET probes for multivalent protein-ligand interactions. Angew Chem Int Ed. 2016;55(15):4738-4742.

9. Mahon CS, Fascione, MA, Sakonsinsiri C, McAllister TE, Turnbull WB, Fulton DA. Templating carbohydrate-functionalised polymer-scaffolded dynamic combinatorial libraries with lectins. Org Biomol Chem. 2015;13:2756-2761.