Crystallography 90 miles south of the USA

The National Center for Scientific Investigation in Havana, Cuba. (Photo courtesy of H. Novoa de Armas.)

In Havana, Cuba, a group of six crystallographers work at the facilities of the National Center for Scientific Research (CNIC) and the Chemical Pharmaceutical Center (CQF). This is the only group of crystallographers in the "pearl of the Caribbean", conducting single crystal X-ray diffraction studies.

In this island paradise surrounded by beautiful beaches and captivating landscapes, the local goverment supports the development of sciences and technology, despite the critical economic situation of Cuba due to the break-up of the former Soviet Union (where the Cuban crystallographers used to study for their PhD).

Our group of mainly young crystallographers is attempting to apply the science of crystallography to pharmaceutical and biotechnological industries. Our facilities are limited: an old X-ray powder diffractometer from the former socialist Germany and an old "Soviet" powder diffractometer which was locally transformed into a single crystal diffractometer, with the help of Russian scientists. Our computational facilities are restricted to PCs. Here in Cuba, we do not have powerful computers. Our libraries have never carried Acta Cryst.

In spite of this, during 1993-1994 we determined and studied the crystal structures of about 18 small molecules, most of them bioactive compounds obtained by synthetic procedures, sugar cane derivatives, pesticides and fungicides used in agriculture, and coordination compounds. This work is the result of close cooperation with the Pharmaceutical Chemistry Center, the National Center for Scientific Research, the Cuban Institute for the Study of Sugar Cane By-products, the University of Havana, and the Center of Bioactive Compounds of the Central University of Villa Clara.

We have made reports for the Powder Diffraction File (PDF), and other studies using powder diffraction. Cooperation with foreign institutions is under development with the National Autonomous University of Mexico, the University of Los Andes in Venezuela, and the University of Oviedo in Spain. This year, E. Parthé from the University of Geneva will teach his course on Crystal Chemistry here.

Support from the international community would be greatly appreciated. We need books, reprints, secondhand instruments, short term scientific visits to foreign labs, scholarships for postgraduate studies and grants-in-aid for scientific projects.

Contact: H. Novoa de Armas, Chemical Pharmaceutical Center, P.O. Box: 6990, Havana, CUBA, e-mail : cqf@infomed.sld.cu.