Organic Chemistry – Glycochemistry

Carbohydrates are the predominant component of biomass on earth as they are an integral part of all living species, including plants, animals, and bacteria. Carbohydrates have important structural and functional roles in biology but remain, in contrast to the other two main classes of biopolymers, nucleic acids and proteins, relatively poorly understood. Access to pure glycans for structural and biological studies has been very difficult due to their high molecular complexity.

Research at the Institute of Organic Chemistry centers on the chemical biology of glycans. Key expertise is the chemical and enzymatic synthesis of plant and bacterial glycans, glycophospholipids, and sugar nucleotides, as well as glycan analysis by NMR-spectroscopy. The synthesized glycans are important probes for immuno- and biochemical experiments that are relevant in the agricultural and biomedical sciences.

Group Pfrengle

Exploring synthetic carbohydrates for plant biology
Using synthetic carbohydrate chemistry, we seek to generate new knowledge on the structure and biosynthesis of plant cell walls as well as plant immunity, which may enable to a more efficient and sustainable usage of crops in the future.

Group Zamyatina

Glycochemistry and Innate Immunity
Our main research interests are in bioorganic chemistry (synthesis of carbohydrate-based biomolecules, glycoconjugates, immunomodulatory glycolipids and various pathogen-associated molecular patterns, as well as carbohydrate vaccines and vaccine adjuvants) to study the host immune response to infection and inflammation. We are also focusing on the development of unnatural glycan-based biomolecules as tools for investigating the structural and molecular basis of pathogen recognition by the host innate immune receptors.

Management and Administration

Head

Univ.Prof. Dipl.-Chem. Dr.rer.nat.
 Fabian Pfrengle
Deputy

Dipl.-Ing.Dr.
 Markus Blaukopf

Addresses & Contact

Institute of Organic Chemistry

Armin-Szilvinyi-Haus
Muthgasse 18
1190 Wien

Contact:
https://boku.ac.at/nwnr/oche

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