The Laboratory of Organic Synthesis was initiated for research and development (R&D) of saponin that contain significant pharmacological activities. The laboratory has also undertaken many key R&D programs including one National 863 project and some major projects funded by Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality. Rich experience in total synthesis of natural saponin and oligosaccharides has been obtained and quite a few patents have been authorized by State Intellectual Property Office of the People’s Republic of China.

Saponin is a crucial solvent important component in natural products and Chinese medicine. Half of 7294 kinds of medical plants contain saponin. But due to low content and difficult isolation of natural saponin, acquisition of pure saponin from natural sources on large scale is very costly and time-consuming. It is also hard to develop new drug with natural saponin because of their low activities and high toxicities. Compared with Saponin, sapogenin (steroid or triterpene) can be easily isolated, purified and industrialized. Starting from sapogenin, many saponins with great bioactivities have been successfully synthesized. Structural modification of saponin has also been carried out in order to study the relationship between the biological activities and chemical structure, as well as the pharmacological mechanisms of saponin systematically. This work is very valuable in development of new drugs with good effect and low toxicity.

The laboratory has built up a graduate level research team with world-class research capabilities on saponin synthesis. It has also established an innovative method for large-scale saponin synthesis and been able to produce highly purified saponin on kilogram level. “Encourage the talents to go abroad for knowledge enlargement and invite them to return and contribute to home country” is launched as a guideline. Exchange and communication with Chinese and foreign fellowships in a wide range has been actively accomplished so as to ensure the newest knowledge updating and the greatest research ideas creating. The laboratory welcomes researchers and students from universities and research institutes to work with us on our common research interests.