Collaboration

In collaboration with the Department of Chemistry of Natural Products, UCT Prague, we have established a Joint Laboratory focused on advancing interdisciplinary research at the interface of carbohydrate chemistry, structural biology, and medicinal chemistry. This partnership integrates expertise in stereoselective synthesis of complex carbohydrate derivatives and glycomimetics with advanced NMR spectroscopy, structural analysis, and biochemical evaluation of protein–ligand interactions.

Our primary aim is to design and develop biologically active glycomimetics capable of selectively modulating carbohydrate–protein interactions involved in inflammation, fibrosis, cancer, and immune regulation. By combining synthetic chemistry, structural characterization, and biological validation, the laboratory enables a seamless transition from molecular design to functional assessment.

• Radek Pohl (IOCB Prague) - PI
• Kamil Parkan (UCT Prague) - PI
• Jan Choutka (IOCB Prague) - postdoc, virtual screening, molecular modeling
• Ondřej Orság (UCT Prague) - PhD student, synthesis of glycomimetics
• Petr Pachl (IOCB Prague) - scientist, structural biology, protein preparation
• Jakub Zýka (UCT Prague) - postdoc, synthesis of glycomimetics
  
  

The Joint Laboratory actively collaborates with several research groups at IOCB, providing specialized expertise in carbohydrate synthesis and glycomimetic design to support a broad range of interdisciplinary projects.

Current and ongoing collaborations include:

• Jiří Jiráček & Lenka Žáková – development of stable ligands for the CI-M6P/IGF2R receptor, a key regulator in pathological and neurodegenerative processes.
• Hector Martinez-Seara – selectively sulfonated L-iduronic acid derivatives for computational and biophysical studies.

The laboratory remains open to new collaborations within IOCB where complex carbohydrate synthesis and structure-based ligand development can contribute to ongoing research programs.

Joint publications:
1.    Redundant ¹⁵N-Mediated J-Couplings Reveal an Aglycone Conformation in N-Phenyl Glycosylamines
2.    N-Aryl-N-Lactosylamides as Potent and Highly Selective Inhibitors of Galectin-3 with Antifibrotic Activity

• Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands (prof. J. Roithová)
• Durham University, UK (prof. P.l Hodgkinson)
• University of Washington, USA (prof. G. Drobny)
• University of California, Riverside, USA (prof. G. Beran)
• Technical University Darmstadt, Germany (Prof. C.M. Thiele)
• Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia (Dr. M. Cigáň a Dr. J. Filo)
• Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovensko (Dr. Olga Malkina)
• Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague (Dr. O. Baszczyňski)
• Institute of Microbiology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague (Dr. M. Flieger
• Institute of Physiology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague (Dr. J. Kopecký, Dr. P. Janovská)
• Institute of Chemical Process Fundamentals, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague (Dr. J. Karban)