Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Chemical Sciences awarded

Dr Srinivasa Reddy has received the 2015 Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Chemical Sciences

Every year since 1958, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) awards the Shanti Swarup Bahtnagar Prize for Chemical Sciences to up to two Indian scientists up to the age of 45 for exceptional and outstanding research.

Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize Winner 2015One of this year’s winners, Srinivasa Reddy, received the prize for his notable work in the fields of organic synthesis and medicinal chemistry. The research group of Dr Reddy is situated at the CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory in Pune, India, and not only works on the design and synthesis of new agrochemicals for advanced crop protection,1 but also develops new concepts and drugs for the treatment of diseases such as diabetes and Alzheimer’s.2–4

The prize includes a citation, a plaque and a cash prize and will be distributed by the Prime Minister of India. As part of the award the awardee will also be giving a lecture later on the topic of the award.

In line with this, at the end of this month one of the biggest and most important Indian meetings will be held in Jaipur – the 17th NOST-Organic Chemistry Conference, at which our India representative Deeksha Gupta will be present and one of OBC’s Editorial Board members, Christian Hackenberger will be giving a talk on the ‘Synthesis and Cellular Delivery of Functional Proteins’.

References

1 Srinivasa et al., “Silicon Incorporated Morpholine Antifungals: Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation”, ACS Med. Chem. Lett., 2015, DOI: 10.1021/acsmedchemlett.5b00245.

2 Srinivasa et al., “Identification of noreremophilane-based inhibitors of angiogenesis using zebrafish assays”, Org. Biomol. Chem., 2015, DOI: 10.1039/C5OB01594D.

3 Srinivasa et al., “Synthesis of palmyrolide A and its cis-isomer and mechanistic insight into trans–cis isomerisation of the enamide macrocycle”, Chem. Commun., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3CC40541A

4 Srinivasa et al., “Zinc mediated allylations of chlorosilanes promoted by ultrasound: Synthesis of novel constrained sila amino acids”, Org. Biomol. Chem., 2014, DOI: 10.1039/C4OB00294F

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Contemporary Synthetic Chemistry in Drug Discovery Themed Issue Launched

Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry (OBC) is delighted to announce a high-profile web themed issue on Contemporary Synthetic Chemistry in Drug Discovery. The guest editors for this issue are Professor Angela Russell (University of Oxford, UK), Professor Douglas E. Frantz (The University of Texas at San Antonio, USA), Dr Matthew Duncton (Rigel, San Francisco, USA), Dr Graham Wynne (University of Oxford, UK) and Dr Shane Krska (Merck, Boston, USA).

Deadline for Submission: 30 April 2016

If you are interested in taking part in this issue, please email OBC: obc-rsc@rsc.org

Manuscripts can be submitted using the Royal Society of Chemistry’s online article submission service. Please clearly state that the manuscript is submitted for the themed issue on Contemporary Synthetic Chemistry in Drug Discovery.

The level of quality of this issue will be high, and all manuscripts will undergo the journal’s normal peer review process. Guidelines are available at rsc.li/1K0EgYx and rsc.li/1OoQWQh



Scope of the issue

This issue aims to demonstrate the importance of synthetic chemistry in drug discovery. Specifically it will highlight how synthetic methods can be used to address hurdles currently being faced in modern medicinal chemistry. Areas falling within the scope of the issue include:

•    CH-Functionalization, including late-stage CH-functionalization & CH-functionalization via biomimetic catalysis
•    Fluorination chemistry, including late-stage fluorination, CF3, SCF3 & SF5 chemistry
•    Asymmetric chemistry, including use of organocatalytic methods
•    Synthesis of compounds with enhanced 3-dimensional character (including cross-coupling & other metal-catalyzed reactions, particularly in relation to sp3-functionalization)
•    Modern heterocyclic chemistry including synthesis of novel heterocycles, highly-decorated heterocycles & synthesis/use of small heterocyclic groups (e.g. oxetanes, azetidines, etc.)
•    Modern synthetic techniques, including flow chemistry, automated synthesis, high-throughput synthesis, microwave-assisted chemistry, multi-component reactions & sustainable chemistry
•    Synthesis/modification of natural products, or natural-product-like compounds (diversity-orientated synthesis)
•    Synthesis utilizing enzymatic chemistry and its use in drug discovery
•    The use of novel reagents/reactions in drug discovery


All submissions should clearly show/explain what challenge within drug discovery is being addressed by the presented work. Articles covering general organic synthesis without this connection are not suitable for this issue.

Inclusion of biological data is not a requirement for submission but you are welcome to include any such data that you feel supports your article. Please note that the main focus of the manuscript should be on the organic synthesis and not the medicinal chemistry.

To view recent articles or find out more about OBC, please visit the journal’s homepage:

Organic & Biomolecular ChemistryRapid publication of high quality organic chemistry research

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Poster Prize Winners at Biorelevant Chemistry Symposium

Congratulations to the Poster Prize winners at the 9th Symposium on Biorelevant Chemistry.

We were please to present the prize to these winners:

  • Ayaka Nakashima (Nagoya University)
  • Kotaro Nishiyama (University of Tokyo)
  • Hayato Kawai (Nagoya University)
  • Takeya Shou (Tokyo Institute of Technology)
  • Takayuki Miki(Kyoto University

Organized by the Chemical Society of Japan, the Biorelevant Chemistry Symposium took place from 10-12th Sept in Kumamoto, Japan.

From left to right: Professor Rie Wakabayashi (Poster award committee co-chair), Professor Hiroyuki Asanuma (Poster award committee chair), Ayaka Nakashima, Kotaro Nishiyama , Hayato Kawai , Takeya Shou , Takayuki Miki, Professor Masahiro Takagi (Chair of the Division of Biotechnology, Chemical Society of Japan), Professor Itaru Hamachi (Vice-Chair of the Division of Biofunctional Chemistry, Chemical Society of Japan).

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RSC Organic Division Poster Symposium 2015

RSC Organic Division Poster Symposium 2015, headline sponsored by F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Ltd.

Abstract submission is now open.

This poster symposium for final year organic chemistry PhD students will take place at The Royal Society of Chemistry at Burlington House, in London, Monday 30 November 2015.

The closing date for submissions is Wednesday 30 September 2015.
Get more information or submit an abstract now.


This symposium offers final year PhD students a chance to showcase their research to their peers, leading academics and industrial chemists. It is open to all branches of organic chemistry – in its broadest interpretation – and has a tradition of being the most competitive and highly-regarded organic chemistry symposium for PhD students in the UK and Ireland.

There will be a first prize of £500, two runner-up prizes of £250, and a ‘selected by Industry’ prize – also of £500. Industrial delegates will select this winner based on the potential for application in an industrial context.

We would like to thank F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Ltd. and our industry sponsors for their generous support of this event.

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Entry into Mitochondria to reveal oxidative secrets

Amogh Kulkarni, a graduate student at IISER Pune, India, writes on a recent OBC article

Recently, researchers from The University of Sydney, under the leadership of Dr. Elizabeth New, have reported a novel redox probe that selectively localises in Mitochondria. This fluorescent probe, NpFR2, has been used to identify the variations in the oxidative capacity of the haematopoietic cells.

Targeting Mitochondria has become one of the most important research protocols due to its immense importance to organelle-specific drug delivery. Mitochondria, being the power house of a cell, are the focus of researchers working in the area. Similarly, reactive oxygen species (ROS) have a key role and their levels are important in maintaining the redox homeostasis of the cell. A number of biological processes have been linked to mitochondrial ROS levels. These include response to hypoxia, immune responses, cellular differentiation and maturation, autophagy and ageing.

Graphic 1Graphic 2

In this paper, Dr. Elizabeth New et al., presents this novel compound that can be used reversibly and has a reduction potential within the biologically relevant range. To target mitochondria, a triphenyl phosphonium (TPP) group is been incorporated into the molecule. Further, they test this molecule in haematopoietic cells and can identify the mitochondrial ROS levels of different types of cells such as bone marrow macrophages, thymus and spleen.

NpFR2 can further be combined with other fluorescent probes and antibodies for further understanding of mitochondrial ROS in different cell processes.

Find out more in their Communication:

Mitochondrially targeted redox probe reveals the variations in oxidative capacity of the haematopoietic cells
Amandeep Kaur, Kurt W. L. Brigden, Timothy F. Cashman, Stuart T. Fraser and Elizabeth J. New
DOI: 10.1039/C5OB00928F

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Poster prize winners at ESOC

19th European Symposium of Organic Chemistry (ESOC2015)

Congratulations to the Poster Prize winners at ESOC 2015.

The winners are:

  • Michael E. Muratore (OBC Best Oral Comm Prize) – “The versatility of gold(I) catalysis applied to the total synthesis of (-)-nardoaristolone B and lundurine C”
  • Joanna Wencel-Delord (OBC Poster Prize) – “Asymmetric C-H activation and dynamic kinetic resolution: new tool for the synthesis of axially chiral biaryls”
  • Szilár Varga (ChemComm Poster Prize) – “Organocatalytic approach to indole terpenoids”
  • Ana M. Matos (MedChemComm Poster Prize) – “Genista tenera as a source of new innovative molecular leads against diabetes and related amyloid disorders: phytochemistry, synthesis and mechanism of action”

The European Symposium of Organic Chemistry is a biannual event which is held all over Europe.  The 19th European Symposium of Organic Chemistry was held from 12th – 16th of July in Lisbon, at the Universidade de Lisboa.   The conference is aimed at stimulating new emerging areas in Organic Chemistry.

Photos of the winners below (from left to right): Michael E. Muratore, Joanna Wencel-Delord, Ana M. Matos and Szilár Varga.

Michael E. Muratore (OBC Best Oral Comm Prize) Joanna Wencel-Delord (OBC Poster Prize)
Ana M. Matos (MedChemComm Poster Prize) Szilár Varga (ChemComm Poster Prize)
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Fast decisions and publication in Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry

At Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry we understand the importance of getting your work seen by your peers in the organic chemistry community as soon as possible.

This is why we get you a decision as fast as possible without compromising on the quality of the review process.

The average time for you to get the first decision on your Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry submission is just:

Communications: 12 days
Papers: 19 days

What is more, from submission to publication of the fully edited version of your manuscript (including time for author revisions) it takes on average:

Communications: 36 days
Papers: 49 days

This is based on all articles sent out to referees in the period January–June 2015. Articles that did not pass an initial assessment have not been included in this calculation.



Want to know more about OBC and the benefits of publishing your work with us?

Want to experience the same service as your colleagues that publish with us?

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Carbohydrate Active Enzymes in Medicine and Biotechnology Meeting

Carbohydrate Active Enzymes in Medicine and Biotechnology Meeting
19-21 August 2015, St Andrews, UK

Oral and poster abstract submission deadline is 26 June.

Register now to secure your place – members of the Royal Society of Chemistry are eligible for a reduced rate. The meeting will cover the following topics:

  • Insights into carbohydrate active enzymes in medicine
  • Use of carbohydrate active enzymes in biotechnology
  • Understanding mechanism and structure of carbohydrate active enzymes
  • Exploiting carbohydrate active enzymes in biosynthesis

The three day conference programme comprises of 15 plenary talks, including Prize and Award Lectures presented by Sabine Flitsch – Royal Society of Chemistry Interdisciplinary Prize 2014, Gideon Davies – Royal Society of Chemistry Khorana Prize 2014 and Glyn Hemsworth – Biochemical Society Early Career Research Award.

For more information and to book your place please visit our event page.

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Organic Chemistry Symposia finish in Kyoto


It’s the final day of our symposium series and it’s been another great one, in the historic city of Kyoto. Many thanks to our host Professor Keiji Maruoka.

Entrance to the Kyoto symposium

Professor Ken Itami

The speakers again presented some really exciting and innovative research. Alongside the international speakers Professor Naoto Chatani from Osaka University presented his work on Ni-catalysed functionalization of C-H bonds; OBC Editorial Board member Professor Kenichiro Itami (Nagoya University) talked about how C-H functionalization can be applied to biological and materials problems; and Professor Michinori Suginome presented on chirality-switchable helical macromolecules.

Speakers, host and RSC staff

Once again we saw some great work from some early career researchers: Professors Norie Momiyama (Institute of Molecular Research), Takuya Hashimoto (Kyoto University), Yusuke Kita and Koji Hirano (both from Osaka University).

It’s been a fantastic week of organic chemistry. Many thanks to all the hosts and speakers for making it a great set of symposia!

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Japan Organic Symposium travels to Tokyo

On to day two of the symposium series, this time at University of Tokyo’s fantastic new auditorium.

The international speakers were joined by a great line-up of researchers from the Tokyo area. First up was Professor Keisuke Suzuki from University of Tokyo, giving a great tour of his research on synthesis of hybrid natural products.

Professor Keisuke Suzuki gives his talk in the University's new auditorium

MedChemComm Advisory Board member Professor Mikiko Sodeoka from RIKEN presented some really nice work on trifluoromethylation of olefins and then the day was rounded off with a fantastic talk from Professor Hiroaki Suga (University of Tokyo) on his innovative peptide research.

Flash Presenter Assistant Professor Keiji Mori

As in Sendai we heard some really nice talks from a number of early career researchers: Professor Keiji Mori (Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology), Professor Yuichiro Hirayama (University of Shizuoka), Professor Shuhei Kusumoto and My Shunichiro Kato (both from University of Tokyo).

Participants in Tokyo

Many thanks to Professor Masayuki Inoue for hosting a great day!

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