Extractions,
Synthesis & Analysis
The laboratory is equipped with modern instrumentation and has extensive experience in the preparation and analysis of plant extracts and biologically active compounds. Our activities include product standardization of medicinal plants,
development and validation of analytical methods, and chemical profiling, and physicochemical characterization of essential and base oils. The services offered atsupport quality control and product innovation for the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries.
Services provided
- Determination of the qualitative and quantitative composition of plant extracts and quality control of products containing plant ingredients;
- Extraction and purification of plant raw materials to obtain innovative products and active ingredients;
- Development and validation of new chromatographic and spectroscopic methods for the analysis of bioactive compounds (natural and synthetic);
- Determination of purity of synthetic compounds;
- Chemical profiling, physicochemical characterization, and quality control of essential and base oils;
- Verification of the authenticity of rose and lavender oils;
- Isolation and purification of individual natural compounds, structural lucidation, and synthesis of structural analogs;
- Determination of fatty acid composition of plant and animal oils and fats;
- Lipid profiling – identification of nonpolar lipid classes in plant and animal oils.
Activities
Valorization of medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) through the production of extracts enriched with bioactive compounds;
Chromatographic and spectroscopic analysis of natural and synthetic compounds, including purity assessment, identification, and quantification;
Isolation and structural characterization of individual natural compounds and synthesis of their analogs to discover potential biologically active molecules;
Development of procedures for standardization and quality control of MAP-based products;
Quality control of essential and base oils;
Lipid analysis of oils and fats of plant and animal origin.
Publications
“Interlaboratory study of a supercritical fluid chromatography method for the determination of pharmaceutical impurities: Evaluation of multi-systems reproducibility”, J. Pharm. Biomed. Anal. 2021, 203. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpba.2021.114206.
A. Dispas, A. Clarke, A. Grand-Guillaume Perrenoud, L. Gioacchino Losacco, J.-L. Veuthey, Q. Gros, J. Molineau, A. Noireau, C. West, F. Salafia, M. Zoccali, L. Mondello, A. Guillen, J. Wang, K. Zhang, P. Jochems, G. Schad, K. Nakajima, S. Horie, J. Joseph, M. Kristina Parr, P. Billemont, A. Severino, S. Schneider, E. Naegele, D. Kutscher, R. Wikfors, R. Black, L. Ingvaldson, J. Oliveira Da Silva, R. Bennett, E. L. Regalado, T. Phuong Thuy Hoang, D. Touboul, Y. Nikolova, M. Kamenova-Nacheva, V. Dimitrov, B. K. Berger, K. A. Schug , S. Kerviel-Guillon, F. Mauge, M. Takahashi, Y. Izumi, T. Bamba, F. Rouvière, S. Heinisch, D. Guillarme , P. Hubert;
“Terpenoids in four Inula species from Bulgaria”, J. Serb. Chem. Soc. 2021, 87. DOI: 10.2298/JSC210730087T;
A. Trendafilova, V. Genova, M. Todorova, P. Staleva, I. Aneva
“Characterization of pisctacia lentiscus fruit cake – a new approach for utilization of waste from fatty oil production” Comptes rendus de l’Acade’mie bulgare des Sciences, 74(8), 1136. DOI:
A. Trendafilova, F. Feki, S. Taneva, A. Konakchiev , Z. Petkova, V. Dimitrov, S. Sayadi, S. Momchilova
“Chemical Composition and Antioxidant Capacity of the Fruits of European Plum Cultivar “Čačanska Lepotica” Influenced by Different Rootstocks”, Foods 2022, 11, 2844. DOI: 10.3390/foods11182844;
A. Trendafilova, V. Ivanova, B. Trusheva, M. Kamenova-Nacheva, S. Tabakov, S. Simova
“Phytochemical Profile, Antioxidant Potential, Antimicrobial Activity, and Cytotoxicity of Dry Extract from Rosa damascena Mill”, Molecules 2023, 28, 7666; DOI: 10.3390/molecules28227666
A. Trendafilova, P. Staleva, Z. Petkova, V. Ivanova, Y. Evstatieva, D. Nikolova, I. Rasheva, N. Atanasov, T. Topouzova-Hristova, R. Veleva, V. Moskova-Doumanova, V. Dimitrov, S. Simova
Equipment
- Gas chromatograph with FID and MS detectors;
- Liquid chromatograph with triple MS detector;
- Liquid chromatograph with DAD and MS detectors;
- Liquid chromatograph with DAD and fluorescence detectors;
- Equipment for automated application, development, functionalization, and densitometry of TLC/HPTLC plates;
- Flash chromatography systemss;
- Multifunctional reactor (5 L volume);
- Laboratory equipment for natural product extraction and organic compound synthesis (reactors, rotary evaporators, vacuum systems, etc.)
Management
Prof. Dr. Vladimir Dimitrov
Scientific fields:
development of stereoselective methods for the synthesis of bioactive compounds, natural compounds and their analogs; extraction of natural products using supercritical carbon dioxide and other modern extraction techniques.
Achievements:
Over 90 scientific publications in reputable international journals and more than 20 successfully completed research projects in the fields of organic synthesis and natural product studies. Head of research projects with European and national funding, including projects under Horizon 2020, the Operational Program Science and Education for Smart Growth, and the Bulgarian National Science Fund.
