Government of the Republic of Serbia
Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development

Project type:

Basic Research

Duration

2011 - 2014

Project Coordinator:

ICTM University of Belgrade

Participants:

Faculty of Chemistry University of Belgrade;  ICTM University of Belgrade; Faculty of Pharmacy University of Belgrade

Project Manager:

Dr. Dragana Milić, associate professor, Faculty of Chemistry University of Belgrade

Number of Researchers:

8

Aim and Scope:

The project proposal includes fullerene based nanomolecular machines design, synthesis, characterization and investigations. The research will be directed toward: 1) synthesis and supramolecular organization investigations of fulleropeptides as nanomolecular machines components; 2) design and synthesis of nanomolecular machines non-fullerenic subunits: platforms for molecular tweezers and baskets, structural components for pseudorotaxanes, rotaxanes and catenanes; 3) fullerene derivatives incorporation into nanomolecular machines subunits in order to obtain hierarchically ordered supramolecular structures; 4) synthesis of fullerene and steroidal derivatives as rotaxane stopers; 5) theoretical investigations of structure-properties relationship and use of molecular modelling in a design of novel structures, potentially able to form ordered supramolecular aggregates; 6) a complete and unambiguous characterization of synthesized compounds by means of modern spectroscopic methods (IR, UV-Vis, MS, NMR, 2D NMR as well as long range and spatial polarization transfer experiments); 7) investigations of supramolecular organization of synthesized compounds, their intermolecular as well as intramolecular non-covalent supramolecular interactions, mobility of nanomolecular machines and their components in various conditions; 8) investigations of a biological activity of obtained supramolecular aggregates and their components.

Major Results:

The synthesis and characterization of fulleropeptide and steroidal molecules and molecular aggregates able to undergo a motion or a hierarchical ordering as a response to an external stimulus. In order to perform a pseudorotaxane to rotaxane transformations, a terminal incorporation of bulky and rigid subunits, such as steroids is designed and synthesized.

Publications:

1. Mira Bjelaković, Nina Todorović, Dragana Milić: “An Approach to Nanobioparticles – Synthesis and Characterization of Fulleropeptides”, Eur. J. Org. Chem. 2012, 5291–5300.
2. Mira S. Bjelaković, Natalija M. Krstić, Dragana R. Milić, Tatjana J. Kop, Koen Robeyns and Vladimir D. Pavlović: “Oxidative 10-membered ring expansion and contraction of stereoisomeric 1(10)-unsaturated and 1,10-epoxy-5-oxo-5,10-secosteroids induced by peracids”, Tetrahedron, 2012, 68, 7479-7488.

Contacts:

Dr. Dragana Milić, Faculty of Chemistry, Studentski trg 12-16, 11158 Belgrade, Serbia, dmilic@chem.bg.ac.rs