A lecturer at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB)'s Life Sciences and Technology School is currently researching Indonesia's biodiversity for potential use in anti-HIV medicines. 

Dr. Azzania Fibriani and her research team designed a compound selection system last year to identify candidates from among the archipelago's endemic biodiversity for potential use in anti-HIV drugs. Among the system's highlights is its ability and speed in simultaneously selecting a variety of compounds. Its flexibility also means that the selection system could be used at almost all molecular labs in the country, and not necessarily restricted to use in a level 3 biosafety lab.

"Using this system, researchers don't have to breed viruses, as it allows them to select the drug compounds that could serve as anti-HIV drug candidates," Azzania recently said at the ITB lab in Bandung, West Java.

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According to the institute's online newsroom, the research is still in the development and validation phase. "In one to two years' time, this system can reach the next stage to search for alternative treatment for HIV infection," she said.

The L'Oreal Fellowship for Women in Science recognized Azzania in 2016 for her research.

For now, she is hopeful that the team can use the system to start selecting candidate compounds for testing by the end of the year, when the validation phase is expected to be completed. (kes)