Dr. Adriaan Basson

Adriaan Basson is a South African researcher in HIV pharmacology and medicinal chemistry, affiliated with the University of the Witwatersrand and collaborating with national HIV research networks. His work bridges antiviral drug development and resistance science, with a focus on improving therapeutic strategies against HIV-1 subtype C, the predominant strain in Southern Africa.

His publications highlight expertise in lipid prodrug design, particularly metabolically stable tenofovir analogues with enhanced pharmacokinetic properties. Through synthetic chemistry, enzymology, and in vitro phenotypic assays, he has advanced ω-functionalized and thioether-linked derivatives that address bioavailability and hepatic metabolism challenges, contributing to next-generation antiretroviral optimization.

Basson also investigates HIV drug resistance mechanisms, examining reverse transcriptase and protease mutations and their interaction with Gag in modulating susceptibility to NNRTIs, NRTIs, protease inhibitors, and emerging agents. Complementary metabolomic studies of bioactive plant extracts further reflect an interest in novel antiviral leads, underscoring a translational approach from molecular design to clinical relevance.