School of Chemistry

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Organic and Biological Chemistry

The following people are in this group:

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Section head

The Organic and Biological Section of the School of Chemistry is one of the largest and most successful in the UK, and as such makes a major contribution to the outstanding international reputation of the School of Chemistry in teaching and research.

Both of these activities are very broadly based and encompass a wide range of synthetic, supramolecular, physical organic, biological, environmental and analytical chemistry.

As befits a subject with its origins in the chemistry of life, there are strong interests in the biosynthesis, synthesis and metabolism of biologically important compounds from a wide range of natural sources. Priority research areas include:

  • Bio-organic chemistry with emphasis on interdisciplinary work on the biosynthesis of polyketide antibiotics, plant hormones and applications of enzymes to synthesis of homochiral molecules.
  • Development of synthetic methodology and its application to a wide range of compounds of biological importance, e.g. pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and toxins. Our wide experience in the preparation of isotopically-labelled compounds for biosynthetic, metabolic and protein structural studies is being extended via several academic and industrial collaborations.
  • Physical Organic Chemistry, including synthesis of novel compounds to study unusual bonding systems, structure/reactivity correlations and the development of new materials and polymers.
  • Environmental and Analytical Chemistry in order to understand a variety of aspects of natural and polluted present-day environments and ancient environments.