Jiří Šrogl

The underlying topic of our research interests are bio-mimetic reactions in organic synthesis. Philosophically, I believe there is no better example to follow than chemistries supporting vital processes in a living organism. In our research we try to apply the principles of biological chemistry to such diverse fields as materials engineering on one side, and organic synthesis on the other, in the hope of obtaining a Nature-like quality in a laboratory setting.

Our chief interest lays in organosulfur chemistry mediated by transition or non-transition metals. Since sulfur based functional groups are ubiquitous in biological systems, and their transformations and interactions with metals are among the most crucial factors that life sustaining processes depend upon, it is only logical to exploit the topic in the quest for more selective, mild and, generally, more useful synthetic methods.

Given the structural variety in sulfur based functional groups, we have separated the whole theme into several subprojects: sulfur based oxidants in biomimetic oxidative reactions, sulfur based leaving groups in cross-coupling reactions, and disulfides and their derivatives in molecular recognition processes.