In order to boost capabilities and facilities in advanced
chemistry/order_t/'>synthetic chemistry, A*
A*Star will be setting up the
Biopolis chemical synthesis Laboratory (BCSL), as a part of the Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences (ICES). Although ICES is located at Jurong Island, the BCSL will be set up at the Biopolis, in order to facilitate
interactions with the biomedical sciences community.
"The
BMS hub at Biopolis contains 5 world leading research institutes but does not have current strength in organic
synthesis/order_t/'>chemical synthesis," said Dr. Keith Carpenter, Executive Director, ICES. "The downstream chemical
process development and
scale-up activities of biomedical and pharmaceutical companies are well catered for by ICES' existing programmes, but the upstream link to the biological sciences is weak. BCSL will address these issues by bringing world-leading chemical
synthesis capabilities into the
heart of the BMS hub and extending activities upstream to provide an intimate link and shared understanding between the structure of the molecule, its synthesis and its biological activity."
"The immediate objectives are to establish the BCSL as a first-class modern facility, equip it with state-of-the-art instrumentation, and internationally recruit the best students and research associates, in order to be able to carry out cutting-edge research," said Prof. K.C. Nicolaou, who will be heading the BCSL. "The mission of the laboratory will be
education,
training, and R&D. We will strive to advance the science of synthesis for its own sake, as well as to interface with
biology and
medicine and the other research activities at the ICES. We hope that the laboratory will be up and running sometime in the summer of 2005."
BCSL's research programs will initially focus on the chemical synthesis of biologically active
molecules of natural and man-design origins. These projects are expected to provide opportunities for discoveries and inventions in the areas of
chemistry,
biology and
medicine. The BCSL also plans to move into the domains of
chemical biology and
biotechnology, where it can collaborate with
biologists and the
pharmaceutical industry.