The goal of the chemists and pharmacists in the LOEWE research cluster Innovative Synthetic Chemistry is to produce bioactive chemical compounds with no other characteristics than those intended for them. By developing and applying innovative chemical strategies, they are seeking to contribute to the accurate steering of – naturally extremely complex – biological processes. The new methods are intended to be used for both research into biological processes and the production of pharmaceuticals. Among other things, the scientists are endeavouring to increase the precision of active agents until they can be considered free from side effects. The distinguishing feature of this research cluster is that a particularly broad range of chemical methods and compound classes in organic (small molecules, complex natural substances, diamondoids, modified biomolecules), inorganic (metal complexes, organometallic compounds, metal clusters) and nanoscale (metal nanoparticles, nano-cages, polymers) chemistry are being developed for specific application in biomolecular recognition.