Our Group

The ChemBioNAC team (11 permanent researchers) led by Prof. Michael Smietana is part of the Nucleic Acids Department at the Institute of Biomolecules Max Mousseron in Montpellier (France). Our expertise focuses on the chemical biology of nucleic acids and relies in the design, synthesis and analysis of natural or modified oligonucleotides for diagnostic, sensing and therapeutic purposes. The scope of our research also extends to the use of nucleic acids as functional systems in biology and also in synthetic chemistry. Bioinspired systems have been designed and engineered to understand, mimic or trigger biological processes. The team is well known for its expertise in the chemical synthesis of modified DNAs or RNAs for different applications. Over the last few years, we have gained undeniable experience in the methodology of natural and modified DNA and RNA synthesis. The team is equipped with 2 oligonucleotide synthesizers (1  ABI, 1 MerMade) dedicated to the automated synthesis of DNA or RNA, 6 HPLC devices for the analysis and the purification of oligonucleotides and 1 MALDI-TOF mass spectrometer for their characterization. The team has also access to the IBMM analytical platform of (NMR and Mass spectrometers).

Main Research Activities

DNA/RNA Synthesis

Enzymes inhibitors

Bioinspired Systems