About
- Graduated as Magister of Pharmacy from the Faculty of Pharmacy at the Medical Academy in Sofia, Bulgaria. Ph. D. in Pharmacognosy (Dr. rer. nat., Dissertation) from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany, 1992.
- Interests in the field of plant cell culture development, preferably from medicinal plants, induction of bioactive natural product biosynthesis, identification, isolation, purification. Developed radio- and enzymeimmunoassays for the quantitation of Galanthamine, an Amaryllidaceae alkaloid with potent reversible acetylcholinesterase inhibiting activity. Galanthamine HBr is commercially available as Nivalin®. Established immunoassays for quantitation of Colchicine, which is a water soluble alkaloid with cytotoxic activity, present in several species of Liliaceae. Isolated soil microorganisms capable of highly efficient regioselective demethylation at C-3 of the Colchicine structure – an important reaction toward semi-synthetical modification of the molecule, aimed to the synthesis of less toxic derivatives.
- Participated in the development of a pilot scale plant cell culture-based process for the production of Paclitaxel – complex diterpen structure with anticancer activity. This compound was approved by the FDA for treatment of certain types of cancer, and commercialized by the Bristol Myers Squibb Company under the name of Taxol®.
- Developed novel processes for commercially feasible purification and production of natural products with potent anticancer activity (patents issued). Established analytical HPLC methods for qualitative and quantitative determination of natural products. Developed preparative HPLC methods for product isolation. Developed MPLC and large scale column separation methods for product isolation and purification.
- As a member of Dr. I. Raskin‘s group in the Department of Plant Biology at SEBS, Rutgers University, he is developing analytical and preparative methods utilizing HPLC, UPLC, LC-MS, and LC-MS/MS techniques for separation and identification of pharmacologically valuable natural products in plant material. Participated in the structural elucidation of two biologically active compounds with plant origin not reported previously in the literature. Key member of the botanical core.