Thesis supervisor: László Somsák
Location of studies (in Hungarian): Debreceni Egyetem Kémia épület E422 Abbreviation of location of studies: E 422
Description of the research topic:
Carbohydrate-protein interactions are present in a vast majority of normal and pathological events in biology, therefore, they are widely investigated therapeutical targets. Our group has a broad experience in the design and synthesis of glycomimetics which, among others, proved excellent glycosidase and glycogen phosphorylase inhibitors and are thus potential antidiabetic agents. Recent collaborations have opened up new possibilities and directed further synthetic efforts towards sodium dependent glucose cotransporter (SGLT) inhibitors as antidiabetic medications well as various lectin (carbohydrate recognizing protein) antagonists having potential as antiadhesion, anticancer, antifungal molecules.
The PhD project is aimed at the design and synthesis of novel monosaccharide-heterocycle conjugates that may be effective against the above proteins’ interactions. The new features of the molecules will be the incorporation of 1-substituted-glycosyl residues in the target compounds wherein the sugar part will be e. g. 1-fluoro-, 1-phosphato-, 1-cyanoglycosyl moiety and the heterocycles will be five or six membered nitrogen containing rings attached by either C- or N-glycosylic bonds to the sugar. In addition, the syntheses of various glycosylmethyl heterocycles will also be foreseen, wherein the heterorings will be attached by a CH2-C or CH2-N bond to the glycon part of the molecules. In each of the above compound types the sugar moiety will be of D-gluco, D-galacto and/or D-manno configuration with pyranose ring.
During the PhD research the student will have the opportunity to get acquainted with the design of glycomimetics in a chemical biology approach, the application and/or elaboration of various synthetic methods of carbohydrate chemistry as well as the complex use of state-of-the-art structural elucidation methods.
Biological, physiological, X-ray crystallographic and computational investigations of the new compounds will be performed in collaborations with teams at the University of Debrecen, Lund University (Sweden), University of Vienna (Austria), University of Thessaly, Larissa (Greece), University of Central Lancashire, Preston (United Kingdom).
Required language skills: angol Number of students who can be accepted: 2
Deadline for application: 2021-01-16
2024. IV. 17. ODT ülés Az ODT következő ülésére 2024. június 14-én, pénteken 10.00 órakor kerül sor a Semmelweis Egyetem Szenátusi termében (Bp. Üllői út 26. I. emelet).
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