Ashot Gevorgyan

About me

I obtained my MSc degree in Pharmacy in 2011 from Yerevan State University, Armenia. After completing my MSc thesis, I moved to Germany to pursue doctoral studies in the group of Prof. Peter Langer at the University of Rostock. In 2015, I earned my PhD, working on homogeneous catalysis and C–H functionalization of various heterocycles.

I then completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in the group of Dr. Viktor O. Iaroshenko at the Center of Molecular and Macromolecular Studies in Łódź, Poland, where I developed novel strategies for the selective and sustainable reduction of organic substrates using silicon reagents.

In 2018, I joined UiT The Arctic University of Norway, where I conducted further postdoctoral research in the groups of Prof. Kathrin H. Hopmann and Prof. Annette Bayer, focusing on the discovery of sustainable strategies for the chemical fixation of CO₂.

In 2021, I established my own research group at the Department of Chemistry, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, and initiated an independent research program in sustainable chemistry. In 2024, I joined the Department of Chemistry and Biomedical Sciences at Linnaeus University, where my team continues to actively develop sustainable technologies in chemistry.

Teaching

At Linnaeus University, I am involved in several teaching programs that introduce pharmacy and biomedical students to the basic concepts of chemistry. These include:

• Clinical chemistry and pharmacology (for BSc students in biomedicine)
• Organic chemistry (for BSc students in pharmacy and biomedicine)
• General chemistry (for BSc students in pharmacy and biomedicine)

As part of these teaching programs, I am also interested in exploring the applicability of modern AI technologies in education.

Research

The research activities in my laboratories can conventionally be divided into three categories:

• Activation of inert bonds and molecules

We are developing novel approaches for forming C–C bonds involving CO₂ and are exploring direct C–H carboxylation reactions for late-stage functionalization. Our team is also working on the development strategies for the production of pharmaceuticals through CO₂ fixation, unlocking new possibilities for sustainable synthesis.

• Sustainable approaches to organic synthesis

We are committed to developing sustainable solutions for organic synthesis, and our latest research has yielded promising results. We have discovered that food-grade and waste vegetable oils can serve as efficient solvents for a range of cross-coupling reactions—including Suzuki–Miyaura, Hiyama, Stille, Sonogashira, and Heck—offering a greener alternative to conventional solvents. We are also exploring other renewable chemicals and solvents to expand this strategy further.

• Homogeneous catalysts from renewable sources

We are designing renewable catalysts and ligands for homogeneous catalysis, with a focus on replacing the most widely used ligands and catalysts with equally effective, renewable analogues. Our team is dedicated to achieving high catalytic efficiency while minimizing environmental impact.

Publications

* Marks corresponding authors, ^OA marks open access articles

• ^OA Asymmetric Boracarboxylation of Styrenes Using Carbon Dioxide. M. Pettersen, C. D. Do, S. M. N. V. T. Gorantla, M. F. Obst, R. Damm, A. E. Putra, A. Gevorgyan, L. Pavlovic, K. H. Hopmann,* A. Bayer,* Adv. Synth. Catal. 2024, 366, 2976-2986.

• ^OA Bulky, Nucleophilic, Renewable: Analogues of Beller's cataCXium A Ligand for Cross-Couplings. D. van der Westhuizen, A. C. Aguilera, N. Hazari, A. Gevorgyan,* Catal. Sci. Technol. 2023, 13, 6733-6742.

Highlighted in Scientific Update as a unique approach to sustainable catalysis.

• ^OA Improved Buchwald-Hartwig Amination by the Use of Lipids and Lipid Impurities. A. Gevorgyan,* K. H. Hopmann, A. Bayer, Organometallics 2022, 41, 1777-1785.

Highlighted in C₂W news magazine of the Royal Netherlands Chemical Society (KNCV) as a new direction in green chemistry!

• Lipids as Versatile Solvents for Chemical Synthesis. A. Gevorgyan,* K. H. Hopmann, A. Bayer, Green Chem. 2021, 23, 7219-7227.

Highlighted in Chemistry World news magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) as a new direction in green chemistry!

Highlighted in C₂W news magazine of the Royal Netherlands Chemical Society (KNCV) as a new direction in green chemistry!

• ^OA Computational and Experimental Insights into Asymmetric Rh-Catalyzed Hydrocarboxylation with CO_2. L. Pavlovic, M. Pettersen, A. Gevorgyan, J. Vaitla, A. Bayer,* K. H. Hopmann,* Eur. J. Org. Chem. 2021, 663-670.

• ^OA Renewable Solvents for Palladium-Catalyzed Carbonylation Reactions. A. Ismael, A. Gevorgyan, T. Skrydstrup, A. Bayer,* Org. Process Res. Dev. 2020, 24, 2665-2675.

• ^OA Formal C‐H Carboxylation of Unactivated Arenes. A. Gevorgyan,* K. H. Hopmann, A. Bayer,* Chem. Eur. J. 2020, 26, 6064-6069.

Highlighted in Org. Chem. Highlights, as a unique concept for selective functionalization of benzenes!

• ^OA Exploration of New Biomass-Derived Solvents: Application to Carboxylation Reactions. A. Gevorgyan,* K. H. Hopmann, A. Bayer,* ChemSusChem 2020, 13, 2080-2088.

• Mechanistic Insights into Copper-Catalyzed Carboxylations. M. F. Obst, A. Gevorgyan, A. Bayer,* K. H. Hopmann,* Organometallics 2020, 39, 1545-1552.

• ^OA Caesium Fluoride-Mediated Hydrocarboxylation of Alkenes and Allenes: Scope and Mechanistic Insights. A. Gevorgyan, M. F. Obst, Y. Guttormsen, F. Maseras, K. H. Hopmann,* A. Bayer,* Chem. Sci. 2019, 10, 10072-10078.

• Application of Silicon-Initiated Water Splitting for the Reduction of Organic Substrates. A. Gevorgyan, S. Mkrtchyan, T. Grigoryan, V. O. Iaroshenko,* ChemPlusChem 2018, 83, 375-382.

• Disilanes as oxygen scavengers and surrogates of hydrosilanes suitable for selective reduction of nitroarenes, phosphine oxides and other valuable substrates. A. Gevorgyan, S. Mkrtchyan, T. Grigoryan, V. O. Iaroshenko,* Org. Chem. Front. 2017, 4, 2437-2444.

• Sonogashira reaction of 5-substituted 3-(prop-2-yn-1-yl)oxolan-2-ones. T. V. Ghochikyan, M. A. Samvelyan,* A. S. Galstyan, A. Gevorgyan, G. Vardanyan, T. Grigoryan, P. Langer, Russ. J. Organ. Chem. 2017, 53, 1833-1839.

• Synthesis of Alkynylated Dihydrofuran-2(3H)-ones as Potent and Selective Inhibitors of Tissue Non-Specific Alkaline Phosphatase. A. Petrosyan, T. V. Ghochikyan, S. A. Ejaz, Z. Z. Mardiyan, S. U. Khan, T. Grigoryan, A. Gevorgyan, M. A. Samvelyan, A. S. Galstyan, S. Parpart, Q. Rahman, J. Iqbal, P. Langer,* ChemistrySelect 2017, 2, 5677-5683.

• ^OA Synthesis of 4-quinolones, benzopyran derivatives and other fused systems based on the domino ANRORC reactions of (ortho-fluoro)-3-benzoylchromones. V. O. Iaroshenko,* S. Mkrtchyan, A. Gevorgyan, T. Grigoryan, A. Villinger, P. Langer,* RSC Adv. 2015, 5, 28717-28724.

• Transition-metal-catalyzed arylation of nitroimidazoles and further transformations of manipulable nitro group. V. O. Iaroshenko,* A. Gevorgyan, S. Mkrtchyan, K. Arakelyan, T. Grigoryan, J. Yedoyan, A. Villinger, P. Langer,* J. Org. Chem. 2015, 80, 2103-2119.

• Regioselective direct arylation of fused 3-nitropyridines and other nitro-substituted heteroarenes: the multipurpose nature of the nitro group as a directing group. V. O. Iaroshenko,* A. Gevorgyan, S. Mkrtchyan, T. Grigoryan, E. Movsisyan, A. Villinger, P. Langer,* ChemCatChem 2015, 7, 316-324.

• Regioselective and guided C-H activation of 4-nitropyrazoles. V. O. Iaroshenko,* A. Gevorgyan, O. Davydova, A. Villinger, P. Langer,* J. Org. Chem. 2014, 79, 2906-2915.

Highlighted in the ACS Select Virtual Issue on recent discoveries that illuminate current trends and inspiring discoveries in C-H Functionalization.

• Efficient synthesis of novel benzo[b][1,8]naphthyridin-4(1H)-ones and pyrido[2,3-b]quinoxalin-4(1H)-ones from alkynones and primary amines. V. O. Iaroshenko,* M. Zahid, S. Mkrtchyan, A. Gevorgyan, K. Altenburger, I. Knepper, A. Villinger, V. Y. Sosnovskikh, P. Langer, Tetrahedron 2013, 69, 2309-2318.

• Design, synthesis and transformation of some heteroannulated 3-aminopyridines-purine isosteres with exocyclic nitrogen atom. V. O. Iaroshenko,* M. Vilches-Herrera, A. Gevorgyan, S. Mkrtchyan, K. Arakelyan, D. Ostrovskyi, M. S. A. Abbasi, L. Supe, A. Hakobyan, A. Villinger, D. M. Volochnyuk, A. Tolmachev, Tetrahedron 2013, 69, 1217-1228.

• Asymmetric synthesis of enantiomerically enriched (S)-α-aminopropionic acids containing heterocyclic side chains. A. S. Saghyan,* G. M. Mkrtchyan, A. S. Dadayan, S. G. Petrosyan, A. V. Geolchanyan, H. M. Simonyan, A. F. Mkrtchyan, S. Mkrtchyan, A. Gevorgyan, V. O. Iaroshenko, P. Langer,* Tetrahedron: Asymmetry 2013, 24, 229-232.

• 2,3-Unsubstituted chromones and their enaminone precursors as versatile reagents for the synthesis of fused pyridines. V. O. Iaroshenko,* S. Mkrtchyan, A. Gevorgyan, M. Miliutina, A. Villinger, D. Volochnyuk, V. Y. Sosnovskikh, P. Langer,* Org. Biomol. Chem. 2012, 10, 890-894.

• Synthesis of heteroannulated 3-nitro- and 3-aminopyridines by cyclocondensation of electron-rich aminoheterocycles with 3-nitrochromone. V. O. Iaroshenko,* S. Mkrtchyan, A. Gevorgyan, M. Vilches-Herrera, D. V. Sevenard, A. Villinger, T. V. Ghochikyan, A. Saghiyan, V. Y. Sosnovskikh, P. Langer,* Tetrahedron 2012, 68, 2532-2543.

• Design and synthesis of condensed thienocoumarins by Suzuki-Miyaura reaction/lactonization tandem protocol. V. O. Iaroshenko,* S. Ali, S. Mkrtchyan, A. Gevorgyan, T. M. Babar, V. Semeniuchenko, Z. Hassan, A. Villinger, P. Langer, Tetrahedron Lett. 2012, 53, 7135-7139.

• Asymmetric synthesis of new β-heterocyclic (S)-α-aminopropionic acids. A. S. Saghyan,* H. M. Simonyan, L. A. Stepanyan, S. G. Ghazaryan, A. V. Geolchanyan, L. L. Manasyan, V. T. Ghochikyan, T. V. Ghochikyan, N. A. Hovhannisyan, A. Gevorgyan, V. O. Iaroshenko, P. Langer,* Tetrahedron: Asymmetry 2012, 23, 891-897.

• 3-Methoxalylchromone-a novel versatile reagent for the regioselective purine isostere synthesis. S. Mkrtchyan, V. O. Iaroshenko,* S. Dudkin, A. Gevorgyan, M. Vilches-Herrera, G. Ghazaryan, D. M. Volochnyuk, D. Ostrovskyi, Z. Ahmed, A. Villinger, V. Y. Sosnovskikh, P. Langer,* Org. Biomol. Chem. 2010, 8, 5280-5284.

• Synthesis of chromeno[3,4-b]pyrrol-4(3H)-ones by cyclocondensation of 1,3-bis(trimethylsilyloxy)buta-1,3-dienes with 4-chloro-3-nitrocoumarin. O. Fatunsin, V. O. Iaroshenko,* S. Dudkin, M. Shkoor, D. Volochnyuk, A. Gevorgyan, P. Langer,* Synlett 2010, 1533-1535.