Institute of Organic Chemistry

with Centre of Phytochemistry

Bulgarian Academy

of Sciences

Institute of Organic Chemistry with Centre

of Phytochemistry

• The Institute was established in 1960.

• The Centre of Phytochemistry was

founded in 1977, within a joint project

of the Bulgarian Government, UNDP

and UNESCO for scientific and applied

research and training of specialists.

Research Areas

New Materials

Computational

Chemistry

Organic

Analyses Natural Products

Natural Products

Natural Products

• Characterization of the chemical diversity and health promoting potential of Bulgarian flora

• Isolation of new biologically active natural compounds (alkaloids, terpenoids, flavonoids and other phenolics)

• Development of methods for standardization and quality control of Bulgarian medicinal plants and propolis

Natural Bioactive Products

• Studies of pectic substances and other bioactive polysaccharides

• Investigation of the antioxidant properties of fruits, vegetables, herbs and mushrooms.

• Development of new technologies for functional foods (Through contract with the small enterprise “VITANEA”)

Organic synthesis and Stereochemistry

Equipment for organic and organometallic

transformations; synthesis of natural

compound analogues and pharmaceutical

ingredients

Organic synthesis and Stereochemistry

• Rational design of chiral ligands based on readily available

natural chiral sources

• Development of metal-mediated and organocatalytic systems

for enantioselective transformations and synthesis of

terapeuticaly relevant structures

• Investigation of the stereochemical course of selective

transformations and configuration determinations

• Contract research collaborations with pharmaceutical

companies – design and synthesis of “compound-libraries” for

development of drug candidates

Organic Analysis Labs

• Bulgarian NMR Centre

• Laboratory “Mass spectrometry &

Instrumental chromatography”

• Electronic and vibrational spectroscopy

• Elemental analysis

NMR Spectrometer

Bruker Avance II+ 600 MHz

NMR Spectrometer

Bruker DRX 250 MHz

NMR Spectroscopy

• Structural analysis and stereochemistry - small and medium

size molecules – conformation and configuration, mixture

analysis

• Molecular mobility - classic dynamic NMR, nuclear relaxation

methods, DOSY spectroscopy

• Supramolecular aggregates and complexes - molecular

recognition with cyclodextrines; structure and composition of

surfactant solutions; colloid and water soluble polymers as

drug delivery systems;

• Computer programs and spectral databases

Mass spectrometry & Instrumental

chromatography

High resolution magneto-sector mass spectrometer DFS HRGC/HRMS/DS

(CI, EI, ESI. APCI)

- Analysis of new compounds, mixtures, composits

of natural and synthetic origin

- New methods for determination of composition,

quality and authenticity of foods

- Expert evaluation of identity, purity and quality

parameters of chemical and pharmaceutical

products

Organic Analysis

Most important ongoing projects: • Chiral Cations and Ligands with Tunable Properties for

Asymmetric Synthesis and Catalysis (project funded by Swiss National Science Foundation, collaboration IOCCP-BAS and Department of Organic Chemistry, University Geneva)

• Bees in Europe and the decline of bee colonies (search for natural products active against bee pathogens) BEEDOC (project funded by FP-7)

• Innovative Chiral Catalysts Based on Auxiliaries from the “Chiral Pool” (project funded by Bulgarian National Science Fund)

• Infraspecific diversity, biologically active substances, selection of perspective habitats, cultivation and sustainable use of Tribulus terrestris L. for the pharmaceutical industry (project funded by Bulgarian National Science Fund)

• Design, synthesis and photophysical investigations of self organized nanoassemblies of noble metal nanoparticles and organic luminophores (project funded by Swiss National Science Foundation, collaboration IOCCP-BAS and Department Physical Chemistry, University Geneva)

Most important ongoing projects: • Fluorophore modified noble metal nanoparticles – new

materials for bio- and chemical sensors (project funded by Bulgarian National Science Fund)

• Study of the pharmacological potential of Bulgarian medicinal plants to treat experimental osteoporosis: taxonomic, phytochemical and in vivo/in vitro biomedical research (project funded by Bulgarian National Science Fund)

• Bulgarian NMR Centre – Development of Advanced and Effective Research Infrastructure for NMR Analysis of Bio- and Nanomaterials (project funded by Bulgarian National Science Fund)

• Enhancing Access and Services To East European users towards an efficient and coordinated pan-European pool of NMR capacities to enable global collaborative research and boost technological advancements – EAST-NMR (FP7 INFRA-2008-1.1.1)

• „European Phosphorus Sciences Network (PhoSciNet)” COST CM0802

Existing national co-operations

Joint

Genomic

Centre

Molecular

biology

Sofia

Medical

University

Sofia

University

Polymers

Micro-

biology

Biodiversity

IOCCP

Existing international co-operations

University

of Athens

University

of Malta

Vrije

Universiteit

Brussel

Romanian

Acad. Sci.

University

of Skopje

IOCCP

University

of Geneva

Slovak

Acad. Sci.