Scientists of the Institute of Chemistry of Additives of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan (ANAS) continue their activities and conduct scientific research in compliance with the special quarantine regime announced in the country in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Afsun Sujayev, deputy director for research at the Institute, reports for the first half of 2020 are currently submitted in writing to the relevant laboratories and departments: “The main part of this reporting period (March 29 – May 18, 2020) is consistent strict quarantine mode. Therefore, based on the decisions and informative recommendations of the Operational Headquarters under the Cabinet of Ministers, as well as the relevant orders and instructions of the President of ANAS, Academician Ramiz Mehdiyev, scientists and specialists of the Institute of Chemistry of Additives also acted remotely. In subsequent periods, in accordance with the decision to ease the quarantine regime, all employees were involved in the work at the Institute in accordance with the basic rules, and the suspended experimental studies, were continued. Despite the remote activity, there were no serious problems in our work. Based on the results of the 6-month reports of the current year, I can say that fundamental theoretical and practical, as well as applied research were successfully continued at the institute and important results were achieved. For example, the first studies of “molecular docking” of new organic reagents synthesized by the Institute’s staff with the participation of international research groups that we are interested in have confirmed that they are more effective inhibitors than their analogues for many diseases. The references of the world scientists to articles published in prestigious journals confirm these important results. In particular, the Institute of Biochemistry of Biologically Active Compounds of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, in accordance with the work plan, conducted a joint international project “Synthesis, chemical modification of biologically active substances and the creation of biologically active additives and preparations based on them.”
So, the creation of biologically active additives and preparations based on new heterocyclic compounds synthesized in ICA, evaluation of their effectiveness in experimental animal models (antioxidant properties, effects on the membrane potential of liver mitochondria and computer calculations of the spectrum of biological activity) were studied in detail and it was found that these substances were more effective than standard drugs. In connection with the important results obtained, 2 articles were published in prestigious foreign journals and 3 articles were sent for publication.
A.Sujayev noted that during the reporting period, scientists of the ICA continued testing additives, created in accordance with the main profile of the institute, their patenting, publication in the form of articles and abstracts were carried out at a high level.
He said that scientists and specialists of the ICA participated in online conferences and talked about their results.
A.Sujayev said that exams of first-year would traditionally be held in July. The final defense of the dissertation will be held on June 29, 2020 for second-year undergraduates.