Laboratory of Natural Products Chemistry

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Team leader: prof. dr hab. Zbigniew Czarnocki

Team leader’s e-mail address: czarnoz@chem.uw.edu.pl

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Brief description of the research topic:

The leading research topic of our team is organic synthesis, with particular emphasis on asymmetric synthesis. Target compounds are most often natural derivatives (isoquinoline and beta-carboline alkaloids) or compounds of pharmacological importance (e.g. antidepressants). In the processes we use, chirality inducers are most often natural compounds (amino acids, hydroxy acids or monoterpenes) or commercially available chiral compounds. We also apply our experience in the construction of new catalysts that can be used in general organic synthesis, such as in asymmetric transfer hydrogenation or the aldol reaction. Our interests also include bioorganic chemistry. Thanks to intensive cooperation with friendly centers, we are able to continuously study the biological activity of the new compounds we obtain, and also enrich our studies with in silico research, including molecular docking, MD simulations and others. One of the most important achievements in recent years was, among others, construction of a new class of hybrid derivatives containing the melatonin system and demonstration of their very strong inhibitory activity against cholinesterases, which may be important in the therapy of Alzheimer’s disease. We have also developed a new, effective synthetic route leading to natural compounds from the lignan group. The most important compound from this group is (-)-podophyllotoxin, which is of great importance in anticancer therapy. Based on its structure, we designed and obtained a number of derivatives with high biological activity, including antimitotic and antioxidant effects. The subject of our interest is also physical organic chemistry, and within this field we have studied the dynamics of conformational transformations of aryl pyridine derivatives.