Periodic Reporting for period 2 - Biomass4Synthons (Straightening training, research and innovation capacities in the valorization of bio-renewable resource)
Berichtszeitraum: 2022-04-01 bis 2024-06-30
The Biomass4Synthons project aims to develop modern and environmentally friendly tools in the field of synthetic organic chemistry through the efficient transformation of bio-renewable based feedstocks into valuable synthetic building blocks, ultimately contributing to the European Green Deal.
Led by the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lisbon (FFUL), Portugal; the Beneficiary Institute of Organic Chemistry with Centre of Phytochemistry Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IOCCP-BAS) Sofia, Bulgaria; and the non-academic partners: Spartax Chemicals, Lda (SPARTAX CHEM) and Science and Technology Park (BLC3).
Together with the partnership Sorbonne Université (SU), Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna (UNIBO), Technische Universiteit Eindhoven (TU/e) and Universität Wien (UNIVIE), we aim to achieve scientific excellence in the fields of process intensification by flow chemistry, photochemical and photocatalytic reactions, efficient metal catalysis, C-H, C-C and C-heteroatom activation, domino reactions, all applied to biomass valorisation.
The scientific knowledge has been acquired with the collaboration of the Twinning partners through several actions such as:
Short-term staff exchanges
• Mentoring sessions
• On-site training events
• Expert visits
• Workshops
• Summer schools
Led by the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lisbon (FFUL), Portugal; the Beneficiary Institute of Organic Chemistry with Centre of Phytochemistry Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IOCCP-BAS) Sofia, Bulgaria; and the non-academic partners: Spartax Chemicals, Lda (SPARTAX CHEM) and Science and Technology Park (BLC3).
Together with the partnership Sorbonne Université (SU), Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna (UNIBO), Technische Universiteit Eindhoven (TU/e) and Universität Wien (UNIVIE), we aim to achieve scientific excellence in the fields of process intensification by flow chemistry, photochemical and photocatalytic reactions, efficient metal catalysis, C-H, C-C and C-heteroatom activation, domino reactions, all applied to biomass valorisation.
The scientific knowledge has been acquired with the collaboration of the Twinning partners through several actions such as:
Short-term staff exchanges
• Mentoring sessions
• On-site training events
• Expert visits
• Workshops
• Summer schools
Several activities were carried out to increase knowledge in the field of synthetic organic chemistry in FFUL and IOCCP-BAS, designed activities to strengthen the knowledge and training expertise of young researchers from the enlargement countries, including:
• 4 Workshops: “Biomass Valorization”, “Precise chemical valorization of bio-renewable raw materials”, “Flow chemistry”, “Mass spectroscopy”.
• 2 Summer Schools: “Biomass valorization” and “Process intensification by flow chemistry”
• 6 on-site trainings with experts from the twinning partners.
• 8 expert visits to FFUL and IOCCP-BAS and 2 motivational lectures
• 20 short-term staff exchanges from FFUL or IOCCP-BAS to twinning partners and from Sorbonne University to FFUL.
• 48 total number of participations in 8 international conferences by FFUL and IOCCP-BAS students and young researchers.
On-site training sessions were designed for the project’s young researchers and were held at FFUL in hybrid mode to disseminate knowledge within and beyond the Biomass4Synthons community. International experts in the field of chemistry were regularly invited to FFUL and IOCCP-BAS to give lectures and interact with the scientific community.
Short-term staff exchanges consisted of 3-month visits of students from FFUL/IOCCP-BAS to the twinning partners. The students were involved in laboratory activities and were able to develop new expertise in the field of organic chemistry, with the aim of bringing the new skills and knowledge to their university. These exchanges led to new collaborations and mentorships between the students and the twinning professors.
The Biomass4Synthons members participated in several events to disseminate results and raise awareness of the projects and the Biomass4Synthons network, which consisted of attending national and international conferences and disseminating results through poster and oral communications.
Communication activities were carried out through the project website and social media platforms (mainly Twitter), to reach the scientific community and the general public by sharing daily activities and promoting project events. Project members were often involved in public engagement activities, such as visits by high school students to FFUL and participation in events aimed at the general public, such as the European Researchers' Night.
Efforts to improve management and administrative skills in the Widening countries were achieved through short-term staff exchanges and on-line meetings with the twinning partner, SU.
37 projects were submitted by FFUL and IOCCP-BAS and 19 were funded. New collaborations with industry were initiated during the project and are currently active.
41 articles were published in international peer-reviewed journals in the field of organic chemistry, of which 9 (22%) were in the top 10%.
The activities carried out so far have contributed significantly to the enhancement of the scientific excellence of the Widening Participant countries' institutions.
• 4 Workshops: “Biomass Valorization”, “Precise chemical valorization of bio-renewable raw materials”, “Flow chemistry”, “Mass spectroscopy”.
• 2 Summer Schools: “Biomass valorization” and “Process intensification by flow chemistry”
• 6 on-site trainings with experts from the twinning partners.
• 8 expert visits to FFUL and IOCCP-BAS and 2 motivational lectures
• 20 short-term staff exchanges from FFUL or IOCCP-BAS to twinning partners and from Sorbonne University to FFUL.
• 48 total number of participations in 8 international conferences by FFUL and IOCCP-BAS students and young researchers.
On-site training sessions were designed for the project’s young researchers and were held at FFUL in hybrid mode to disseminate knowledge within and beyond the Biomass4Synthons community. International experts in the field of chemistry were regularly invited to FFUL and IOCCP-BAS to give lectures and interact with the scientific community.
Short-term staff exchanges consisted of 3-month visits of students from FFUL/IOCCP-BAS to the twinning partners. The students were involved in laboratory activities and were able to develop new expertise in the field of organic chemistry, with the aim of bringing the new skills and knowledge to their university. These exchanges led to new collaborations and mentorships between the students and the twinning professors.
The Biomass4Synthons members participated in several events to disseminate results and raise awareness of the projects and the Biomass4Synthons network, which consisted of attending national and international conferences and disseminating results through poster and oral communications.
Communication activities were carried out through the project website and social media platforms (mainly Twitter), to reach the scientific community and the general public by sharing daily activities and promoting project events. Project members were often involved in public engagement activities, such as visits by high school students to FFUL and participation in events aimed at the general public, such as the European Researchers' Night.
Efforts to improve management and administrative skills in the Widening countries were achieved through short-term staff exchanges and on-line meetings with the twinning partner, SU.
37 projects were submitted by FFUL and IOCCP-BAS and 19 were funded. New collaborations with industry were initiated during the project and are currently active.
41 articles were published in international peer-reviewed journals in the field of organic chemistry, of which 9 (22%) were in the top 10%.
The activities carried out so far have contributed significantly to the enhancement of the scientific excellence of the Widening Participant countries' institutions.
The implementation of the Biomass4Synthons project was guided by the main objective of providing cutting-edge research and training in synthetic organic chemistry to the participating Widening countries, in order to use more modern and environmentally friendly tools for the efficient conversion of bio-renewable-based feedstocks into valuable synthetic building blocks.
During the project, significant progress beyond the state of the art has been achieved in the following topics:
• Valorisation of bioavailable chitin and chitosan through heterogeneous catalysis towards the synthesis of various nitrogen-containing furans;
• Transformation of furfural, obtained from transformation of biomass, into value added commodity compounds such as trans-4,5-diamino-cyclopent-2-enones, Achmatowicz products and other derivatives;
• Synthesis of Shikimic acid amide derivatives with potential antimicrobial activity;
• Efficient extraction of oleuropein from olive leaves, and methanolysis via heterogeneous catalysis;
• Electrochemical transformation of abietic and dehydroabietic acid, from gum rosin, towards new selectively oxidised products;
• Synthesis of beta-lactams from abietane diterpenoids via palladium catalyzed oxidation, and bioactivity assessment;
• Extraction of lupanine from lupin beans and its resolution and transformation to enantiopure sparteine;
• Electrochemical transformations of lupanine followed by valorisation via functional groups transformation;
• Total synthesis of bioactive marine natural product (±) and (-)-agelastatin A;
• Chemical transformations of Sphaerococcenol A, a brominated diterpene obtained from the red alga Sphaerococcus coronopifolius and their bioactivity assessment;
• Photocatalytic transformations of quinic acid;
• Visible light photoredox synthesis of 2-thiazolines derived from furanic aldehydes.
The scientific advances in the Biomass4Synthons project were always in line with biomass valorisation and focused on the use of more sustainable technologies such as flow chemistry, photochemistry, photocatalysis and electrochemistry.
The successful implementation of the Biomass4Synthons project had an impact on the proposed objectives:
• Intensification of S&T excellence and competitiveness, resulting in higher output quality of publications and patents;
• The mentoring and short-term staff exchange activities carried out had a tremendous impact on the young researchers' skills and research progress, strengthening their knowledge and training expertise. The expertise acquired with the twinning partners was effectively transferred to the home universities, thereby enhancing their scientific capabilities;
• The ongoing interaction with the industrial sector potentially involved in biomass commercial activities, combined with the generation of higher knowledge and scientific and technological achievements, will continue to strengthen the industrial sector, which will ultimately generate socio-economic impacts.
During the project, significant progress beyond the state of the art has been achieved in the following topics:
• Valorisation of bioavailable chitin and chitosan through heterogeneous catalysis towards the synthesis of various nitrogen-containing furans;
• Transformation of furfural, obtained from transformation of biomass, into value added commodity compounds such as trans-4,5-diamino-cyclopent-2-enones, Achmatowicz products and other derivatives;
• Synthesis of Shikimic acid amide derivatives with potential antimicrobial activity;
• Efficient extraction of oleuropein from olive leaves, and methanolysis via heterogeneous catalysis;
• Electrochemical transformation of abietic and dehydroabietic acid, from gum rosin, towards new selectively oxidised products;
• Synthesis of beta-lactams from abietane diterpenoids via palladium catalyzed oxidation, and bioactivity assessment;
• Extraction of lupanine from lupin beans and its resolution and transformation to enantiopure sparteine;
• Electrochemical transformations of lupanine followed by valorisation via functional groups transformation;
• Total synthesis of bioactive marine natural product (±) and (-)-agelastatin A;
• Chemical transformations of Sphaerococcenol A, a brominated diterpene obtained from the red alga Sphaerococcus coronopifolius and their bioactivity assessment;
• Photocatalytic transformations of quinic acid;
• Visible light photoredox synthesis of 2-thiazolines derived from furanic aldehydes.
The scientific advances in the Biomass4Synthons project were always in line with biomass valorisation and focused on the use of more sustainable technologies such as flow chemistry, photochemistry, photocatalysis and electrochemistry.
The successful implementation of the Biomass4Synthons project had an impact on the proposed objectives:
• Intensification of S&T excellence and competitiveness, resulting in higher output quality of publications and patents;
• The mentoring and short-term staff exchange activities carried out had a tremendous impact on the young researchers' skills and research progress, strengthening their knowledge and training expertise. The expertise acquired with the twinning partners was effectively transferred to the home universities, thereby enhancing their scientific capabilities;
• The ongoing interaction with the industrial sector potentially involved in biomass commercial activities, combined with the generation of higher knowledge and scientific and technological achievements, will continue to strengthen the industrial sector, which will ultimately generate socio-economic impacts.