Research projects of the Department of Chemistry, University of Basel are reviewed ranging from the synthesis of complex natural products to the development of metalorganic catalysts and organocatalysts.

The natural product-like 6,6″-biapigenin has been identified as only the second inhibitor of NEDD8-activating enzyme using virtual screening. This compound was active in enzyme and cell-based assays, with potency in the micromolar range.

The number of smart products in our daily life and thus the interaction with them is constantly increasing. In order to facilitate the interaction, smart products require different types of knowledge: knowledge about the user model, workflows, the domain and the context. In this paper, we point out how these different types of knowledge can enhance the interaction and how they can be gathered.

A conservative projection shows the world's population growing by 32% (to 9.5 billion) by 2050 and 53% (to 11 billion) by 2100 compared with its current level of 7.2 billion. Because most arable land worldwide is already in use, and water and energy also are limiting, increased production of food will require a substantial increase in efficiency. In this article, we highlight the importance of ...

Structure revision of the recently characterized natural products, decurrensides A-E, is described. The revision is aided by fast and accurate computations of proton spin-spin coupling constants. While the (13)C chemical shifts calculations could reveal the misassignment of the original structures, the calculated spin coupling constants possess much higher structural information content, inform...

The first total synthesis of acetylhomoagmatine, a natural product isolated form the methanolic extracts from the sponge Cliona celata, is performed in four steps in a very high yield.