Chemical Sciences

Study in the field of organic chemistry at the ICPF takes place in two scientific departments. The Research Group of Advanced Materials and Organic Synthesis focuses primarily on the photochemical synthesis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, primarily helicenes, and phenacenes. The parent compounds are then derivatized with the objective of improving their optical and electronic properties, which are subsequently tested for various applications in wide-ranging branches of research. The Research Group of Bioorganic Chemistry and Biomaterials concentrates on, among other things, the preparation of fluorinated carbohydrates, glycosides, and their multivalent analogs, which find applications in glycobiology as enzyme inhibitors, model molecules to study the interaction of carbohydrates with proteins, and as substances that modulate the cellular glycome. The department’s other key topic is the design and preparation of new dendrimers, dendritic and hyperbranched molecules, and molecular formations with precisely defined structures. These macromolecules are further studied as drug delivery vehicles, non-viral vectors for therapeutic siRNA/DNA delivery, or as components of advanced composite materials.

Study in the field of physical chemistry at the ICPF is concentrated in the Research Group of Molecular and Mesoscopic Modelling, where complex fluid systems in the volume phase and in nanospace under equilibrium and non-equilibrium conditions are studied. Computer modelling at the molecular and mesoscopic level serves here as a complement to realistic experiments and finds applications in chemical and material engineering, as it clarifies the relation between the microstructure of systems and their macroscopic behaviour.