IIT Bombay: Fellow designing Quantum Chemistry based software for Radiation Therapy

Dr Achintya Kumar Dutta from IIT Bombay, with the assistance of his research group, is working to develop new techniques for quantum chemistry. He wants to utilise them in competent and free software to study electron attachment to aqueous DNA which has big consequences in radiation therapy-based treatment of Cancer. Dr Dutta is a receiver of the INSPIRE Faculty Award started by the Department of Science and Technology. According to a statement released by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Dr Dutta’s research group in IIT Bombay is teamwork of computer scientists, chemists, and engineers who are integrated towards a common aim of development of efficient quantum chemistry methods and free software.

The software can be customarily used by scientists all around the world to decipher their chemistry problems. Indian scientists are at the front position of the new theory development for quantum chemistry. But the progress in transforming those theories into practically functioning computer software is somewhat inadequate. This is certainly a matter of surprise considering the booming Indian IT industry and enormously talented software professionals who are of international reputation.

The efficacy of these newly developed quantum chemistry methods allows the research group to solve the Schrodinger equation for the addition of electrons to DNA in the existence of the bulk aqueous setting. This study in IIT Bombay can assist in the development of a new class of radio-sensitizers, which makes tumor cells more profound to radiation therapy and thereby protects the normal cells. Computational modeling can significantly decrease the development cost of new radio-sensitizers, both in terms of money and time.

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