Biochemical & Chemical Engineering

Maria Marinescu has received her PhD from the University of Bucharest in 2010, under the supervision of Prof Mihaela Hillebrand, studying the chemistry and electronic structure of the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8-octahydroacridine compounds, as a key structure for the new biomolecules and hydrogen bonding receptors. She is currently serving as an Assistant Professor at the University of Bucharest, Department of Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry and Catalysis and her current research interests include organic synthesis of various heterocyclics with applications in medicinal and materials chemistry, DFT studies in organic molecules related with their biological properties and applications of organic materials in art and archaeology.

A series of the tetrahydropyrimidines obtained through the Biginelli condensation was used to synthesize new tetrahydropyrimidine-benzo[d]imidazoles, by two types of reactions: Mannich reaction or reaction with a benzimidazole halogen compound. The structures of all compounds were confirmed by 1H, 13C-NMR, FTIR, UV-VIS spectra and elemental analysis. All derivatives were evaluated by qualitative and quantitative methods against a panel of selected bacterial and fungal strains. A DFT analysis of molecular structure and frontier molecular orbitals HOMO-LUMO was performed using the GAMESS 2012 software. Antimicrobial activity was correlated with electronic parameters (chemical hardness, electronic chemical potential, global electrophilicity index), Mullikan atomic charges and geometric parameters of the tetrahydropyrimidines calculated with GAMESS. It has been found that the symmetry of the molecule and the presence of nucleophilic group are advantages for a high antimicrobial activity.