Research focus of the A.E. Arbuzov Institute has changed with time but kept main scientific guidelines from the time of academicians Arbuzov.
Chemistry of phosphorus and its organic and organoelemental compounds as the basis for the development of new substances, materials and technologies is the oldest research field. Many years of research has resulted in laying the scientific foundations for chemistry of trivalent phosphorus derivatives. New rearrangements have been detected, novel types and classes of phosphorus derivatives with coordination number from two to five produced. The Arbuzov and Pudovik reactions mechanisms have been studied in detail, and new reactions of intra- and intermolecular heterocyclization, leading to new mono-, poly-, and spirophosphacycles, cage constructions and heterocycles with carbohydrates fragments, have been developed. The substantial contribution to the study of dual reactivity of P(III) acids derivatives has been made, and the phenomenon of chemical polarization at phosphorus nuclei has been discovered. The reaction of pentacoordinated phosphorus compounds with arylacetylenes, leading to the formation of cyclic phosphorus analogues of natural systems, has been found and thoroughly investigated.
Coordination chemistry and organometallic chemistry are quickly developing fields in the Institute.Unusual poly- and heteropolynuclear compounds, as well as paramagnetic complexes of transition metals with free radical fragments, are synthesized at the Institute. The coordination compounds with unusual geometry of transition metal environment are obtained; compounds with phosphorus-metal labile ‘bent’ bonds and optically active metal complexes with chiral ligands are synthesized.
Additionally, new effective methods for electrosynthesis of various classes of organophosphorus compound (OPC) with P-C, P-O and P-N bonds directly from white phosphorus are developed. The electrochemical method allows carryng out reactions in soft conditions at high rate and selectivity, and its manufacturing application will allow rejecting the faulty ‘chlorine technology’ widely used in present.
In the last decade organic supramolecular chemistry and fullerene chemistry are developed in the Institute. Novel organophosphorus, organosulfur and organosilicon derivatives of calyx[4]arene, thiacalyx[4]arene and calyx[4]resorcinarene were synthesized. On their basis pH-controlled extragents were obtained, efficiently and selectively binding the rare-earth elements and radionuclides from various solutions including the industrial ones. The design principles for efficient supramolecular catalytic systems, accelerating the hydrolysis of phosphorus acids esters by several orders of value, were developed.
Organofullerens with strong electron acceptor properties, synthesized at the Institute, form the basis for creating the systems for artificial photosynthesis and molecular switches.
Chemistry of heterocyclic compounds, traditional for the A.E. Arbuzov Institute, has transformed into chemistry of macro- and polynuclear carbo- and heterocyclic molecules. New type of heterocyclic structures – pyrimidinophanes – macrocycles of various sizes, containing nucleotide bases, has been synthesized. Efficient methods for synthesis of highlyfunctionalized condensed heterocycles: indans, tetralins, and benzocycloheptanes, which are of interest for chemistry of natural compounds and pharmacology, are being developed.
Stereochemistry of organic, organoelemental complex compounds has being studied at the Institute since its establishment. Original approaches and new reagents are developed, allowing the determination of the enantiomeric composition and absolute configuration of organic substrates by NMR spectroscopy. To obtain the practically important nonracemic drugs without involving enantiopure chiral reagents and/or auxiliary compounds the spontaneous resolution of racemates at crystallization is used.
Recently new stereoselective reactions have been discovered, for example, intramolecular variant of the Pudovik reaction. It enables producing -heterosubstituted alkylphosphonates – the precursors of biologically important -amino- and -oxyalkylophosphonic acids with high yield.
Besides, the A.E. Arbuzov Institute continues traditions of natural compounds research. In recent years the technology for producing the concentrated protein, flavonoids (rutin) and pectines from Amarantus cruentus plant and different sorts of lupin has been created. It resulted in patenting biologically active food supplements, some of them having antianemic action. Biologically active derivatives of diterpenoid isosteviol, forming complexes with metal ions and amino acids, are synthesized. Technological regulation has been developed for extracting low-calorie sweetener – glycoside stevioside from Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni plant leaves.
At the A.E. Arbuzov Institute scientific foundations are laid for creation of biologically active substances for use in medicine, food industry and agriculture. Novel drugs such as ‘Phosarbin’ (1955), antifungal ointment ‘Chloracetophos’ (1971), ‘Dimephosphon’ (1983) used in metabolic therapy with wide application spectrum, anti-burn and immune-stimulating drug ‘Xymedon’ (1993), and antiblastomic ‘Glycyphon’ (1993) for curing the cancroid were developed and introduced in medical practice. Highly efficient growth stimulator ‘Melaphen’ was inventad in 2000. Goal-seeking activity of the Institute scientists resulted in the creation of fundamentally new preparations, more efficient than the well-known hypotensive, antihypertensive and -adrenolytic drugs. New class of high-efficient and selective acetylcholinesterase inhibitors has also been synthesized.
In the framework of the research on polymer materials for the integrated optoelectronics original methods for synthesis of nonlinear-optical chromophores, minomers, and oligomers are developed; hardware and software are designed for studying the electreting process of electro-optical polymer networks.
The A.E. Arbuzov Institute is placed in Kazan – the capital of the oil-producing Republic of Tatarstan. Thus geochemistry, chemistry and refining of Petroleum and bitumen belong to the most important scientific research areas. The dependence of oil chemical content and properties on geochemical and biochemical processes has been investigated, the unique database being created. The technological properties of high-viscous oils were preliminarily forecasted, and rational methods for the oils refining were proposed, resulting in obtaining such valuable products as high-viscosity waxy base oils. Control requirements of the oil fields development and in making of the new high-efficient technologies for petroleum production intensification were created. Methods for obtaining the functionally substituted ammonium compounds, high-efficient reagents of complex activity, were developed using available petrochemical products.
On the basis of modern scientific equipment, belonging to the A.E. Arbuzov Institute, Multiple-Access Centre possessing unique devices for performing NMR, IR, ESR, Raman spectral investigations (Avance-600, MSL-400, ISF-113V, Vector-22, Brucker ER-200D), automatic X-ray difractometers Enraf-Nonius CAD-4, as well as mass-spectrometers MX-1310, Finnigan Mat, MALDI-TOF Dynamo, chromato-mass-spectrometer Turbomass Golg, quadrupole chromatography-mass-spectrometer Trace MS, polarimeter PerkinElmer 341A, and calorimeter Setaram C-80 was established. It is the first institution of that kind in the Volga region.
The A.E. Arbuzov Institute maintains worldwide relations with leading international centers. Long-term research activity is realized togever with the Universities of Leipzig, Dresden, Munster, Braunschweig, Greifswald, Giessen (Germany); Mons, Antwerp (Belgium); Paris, Strasburg (France); Okayama, Osaka (Japan); Riverside (USA); Pohang (Southern Korea); Lublin, Lodz (Poland); the French Institute of Oil and Gas in Toulouse (France); the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry in Florence (Italy); the Institute of Chemical Technology in Prague (Czech Republic) and other educational and academic institutes of the world.