Institut de Chimie Moléculaire et des Matériaux d'Orsay

Thème : Synthèse et Réactivité de Molécules pour le Vivant

Le groupe Synthèse de Biomolécules, avril 2022

Our group is positioned at the interface between Synthetic Organic Chemistry and Biology and possesses highly complementary skills in organic synthesis (synthesis of bioactive molecules, glycochemistry, nucleic acid chemistry, organometallic chemistry), and in biochemistry (enzymology, protein and nucleic acids). We are interested in the development of new chemical tools for the study or regulation of biological processes. The chemistry of carbohydrates is a dominant feature of our activities and part of our research focuses on molecular events controlled by carbohydrates and glycoconjugates. New research projects are also starting in the field of post-translational modifications of proteins and epigenetics.

Our research projects are focused on two main objectives:

The development of chemical probes to understand at the molecular level and to modulate different biological events using chemical biology approaches (photoaffinity, chemoenzymatic or metabolic labeling). Diverse biological issues are addressed related to plants, bacteria, viruses, parasites and cancer with potential applications in the field of health, diagnostics and environment.
The development of new methods for the synthesis of carbohydrate-containing bioactive molecules (natural structures, mimic constructs, etc.)

These two aspects are highly complementary and closely related: the projects in the field of chemical biology require the development of new and efficient synthesis of the different chemical tools; conversely, the methodology developments in glycochemistry could be applied to new biological issues.