Division of Heteroorganic Chemistry

The research conducted in the Department focuses on the following subjects:

• Chemistry, stereochemistry and bioorganic chemistry of organic phosphorus, sulfur and to a lesser extent selenium and tellurium compounds and their use as catalysts.
• Application of heteroorganic compounds in asymmetric synthesis and in the total      synthesis of natural and biologically active compounds.
• Biocatalysis in heteroorganic chemistry.
• Chemistry of new materials.

The Department comprises of five research groups. Two of them are formally separated: “Laboratory of Stereochemistry”, headed by Professor Józef Drabowicz and “Laboratory of Metallo- and Metalloidoorganic Chemistry”, headed by Professor Piotr Bałczewski. The remaining informal three groups are headed by: Professor Marian Mikołajczyk, Associate Professor  Wanda  H. Midura (DSc.) and Professor Piotr Kiełbasiński. All the groups closely cooperate within the Department and contribute to all the research subjects mentioned above.

The research interest in stereochemistry is related to new asymmetric and stereoselective syntheses of organic phosphorus and sulfur compounds in which these heteroatoms are stereogenic centres. In addition to classical chemical syntheses of these compounds, application of biocatalysts (enzymes or crude cell preparations) is a very important and fast developing area of research allowing for the synthesis of chiral non-racemic heteroorganic derivatives that are otherwise inaccessible. The optically active heteroorganic substrates are applied in the synthesis of new chiral catalysts and ligands for organometallic chemistry and in the asymmetric synthesis of various biologically active compounds, such as chiral aminophosphonic acids and cyclopropanes of biological importance. Phosphorus, sulfur and selenium – containing reagents are used as valuable substrates in the synthesis of biologically active natural products. In this way, syntheses of a series of cyclopentanoid antibiotics and various drugs, such as methylenomycines, sarkomycin, rosaprostol, neplanocin, prostaglandins and their derivatives, have been accomplished. Another field is the synthesis of heteroorganic dendrimers used as drugs and drug carriers.

Chemistry of new materials comprises investigations on the synthesis of polythiophene  derivatives and, applying a methodology originally developed in the Department, synthesis of polycyclic aromatic and heteroaromatic hydrocarbons as potential substrates for organic molecular electronics devices, biologically active compounds and organometallic catalysts.