https://doi.org/10.15255/KUI.2015.031
Published: Kem. Ind. 65 (7-8) (2016) 359–374
Paper reference number: KUI-31/2015
Paper type: Review
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From Vitamins to Antibiotics – A Chemist’s Memories. Part II.

S. Mutak

Abstract

Part II presents how the author combined all his acquired skills to improve synthetic chemical reactions by studying the reaction mechanism, chemical kinetics and intermolecular binding. After his postdoctoral studies, he was invited to a multipurpose synthetic plant, where he made great improvements by applying a rational approach. After this success, he returned to the Research Institute as the head of the chemical process development. The department was partly oriented toward synthesis of new biologically active compounds, especially antibacterials. Due to the positive results with azithromycin, the most interesting group were macrolide antibiotics. In the last period of his chemical activities, the author describes how he became head of the chemistry of macrolide antibiotics, which was the key point in establishing a new international joint venture project with GlaxoSmithKline, one of the biggest companies in the world. After retirement, he was a consultant for two years, in which period he wrote a very useful and well cited review about azalide compounds.

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Keywords

improvement of synthetic chemical reactions in production, Friedel-Crafts reaction, new antibacterial azalides