Group leader

Tibor Soós

Website

www.orgcat.hu

Research interests

Our group has an exceptionally diverse research portfolio, ranging from methodological developments in organocatalysis, through heterocyclic and medicinal chemistry, to the total synthesis of biologically active natural products. This facilitates a highly interdisciplinary attitude towards the chemical sciences, interconnecting in our researches the different areas of organic chemistry, but also the fields of molecular biology and material sciences.

Main research focuses

  • The research and development of novel catalytic systems based on frustrated Lewis pairs
  • The development of bifunctional organocatalysts and their application in asymmetric syntheses
  • Total synthesis of monoterpene indole alkaloids
  • Studying of strained heterocyclic compounds
  • The development of new methods of activation in organic syntheses using both catalytic and stoichiometric settings

Laboratories

The Organocatalysis Research Group has three state-of-the-art preparative chemical laboratories with a total of 20 large fume hoods. These are equipped for advanced organic syntheses, including inert techniques, micropreparative techniques, and large-scale syntheses. Furthermore, several analytical instruments are available to support high-quality synthetic researches.

Instrumentation

  • GS Glovebox
  • High-pressure gas system for hydrogenation (100 bar)
  • ElectraSyn 2.0 electrochemical reactor
  • Anton Paar Monowave 300 microwave reactor
  • Teledyne CombiFlash flash chromatography systems
  • ECOM/Teledyne preparative HPLC system
  • IOC Instrumental Laboratories:
    • Varian Inova 300 NMR spectrometer
    • Varian Inova 500 NMR spectrometer
    • Shimadzu 2010 Ultra GCMS system
    • Shimadzu 2020 HPLC-MS system
    • ABL&E-Jasco HPLC system for chiral separation
    • Agilent 6850 GC-FID system for chiral separation
    • PerkinElmer Spectrum 3 MIR/FIR spectrometer
    • Jasco P-2000 polarimeter
    • Metrohm automatic Karl-Fisher titrator
    • Meltview automatic melting point determination instrument

Educational activities

The members of the Organocatalysis Research Group are heavily involved in the training of young chemists at Eötvös Loránd University’s Faculty of Science. Our PhD students and researchers participate in the teaching of a number of lectures, seminars, and laboratory courses. Furthermore, the following courses are also available for credits for those who want to learn more about advanced organic chemistry:

  • Classics in Total Synthesis (Tibor Soós)
  • The Chemistry of Heterocyclic Compounds (Szilárd Varga)
  • Theoretical Organic Chemistry (Szilárd Varga)
  • Green Chemistry Laboratory Course – Organocatalysis

Members