Институт по минералогия и кристалография "Акад. Иван Костов" - Българска академия на науките
Institute of Mineralogy and Crystallography "Acad. Ivan Kostov" - Bulgarian Academy of Sciences

CURRICULUM VITAE: 

Place of birth: Parvomay, Bulgaria

Date of birth: 12.08.1981

Nationality: Bulgarian

EDUCATION AND ACADEMIC DEGREES OBTAINED: 

2021 - PhD, Institute of Organic Chemistry with Centre of Phytochemistry", Bulgarian Academy of Sciences

2010 - Master degree in Medical Chemistry, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Sofia

ACADEMIC POSITIONS IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS

2022 – currently, Assistant Professor, Institute of Mineralogy and Crystallography, Acad. Ivan Kostov", Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IMC-BAS)

FIELD OF INTEREST:

–        Synthesis of micro/mesoporous and nanostructured oxides.

–        Physicochemical characterization of modified materials (temperature gravimetrical analysis, temperature programmed reduction, infrared spectroscopy, UV-VIS spectroscopy, adsorption methods etc.).

–         Investigation of catalytic properties of modified nanocomposite materials: Catalytic combustion of different volatile organic compounds (VOCs) for environmental protection;

–         Investigation of the relation between catalyst composition, structure and catalytic behaviour.

–        Genesis of the catalytic sites and mechanism of the catalytic processes.

–        Preparation of new drug delivery systems on the basis of mesoporous silicas with different structure, morphology, particle size and surface functionality.

–        Study on the optimization of the loading capacity and release properties of loaded drugs -antibiotics, glucocorticoids, anti-inflammatory non-steriods and antioxidants.

LIST OF SELECTED PUBLICATIONS AND PATENTS:

1.       Petrova, A., Popova, M., Kuzmanova, Ch., Tsvetkova, I., Naydensk, H., Muli, E., Bankova, V.. New biologically active compounds from Kenyan propolis. Fitoterapia, 81, 2010, 509-514.

2.       Popova, M., Szegedi, Á., Lazarova, H., Ristić, A., Kalvachev, Y., Atanasova, G., Wilde, N., Tušar, N.N., Gläser, R.. Synthesis of biomass derived levulinate esters on novel sulfated Zr/KIL-2 composite catalysts. Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, 235, 2016, DOI:10.1016/j.micromeso.2016.07.047, 50-58.

3.       Todorova,T., Kalvachev,Y., Lazarova,H., Popova,M.. Catalytic activity of modified mordenite in the reaction of m-xylene transformation. Comptes Rendus de L'Academie Bulgare des Sciences, 69, 2016, 1283-1290.

4.       Popova, M., Lazarova, H., Kalvachev, Y., Todorova, T., Szegedi, Á., Shestakova, P., Mali, G., Dasireddy, V. D. B. C., Likozar, B.. Zr-modified hierarchical mordenite as heterogeneous catalyst for glycerol esterification. Catalysis Communications, 100, 2017, DOI:10.1016/j.catcom.2017.06.009, 10-14.

5.       Popova, M., Lazarova, H., Szegedi, A., Mihályi, M. R., Rangus, M., Likozar, B., Dasireddy, V.D.B.C. Renewable glycerol esterification over sulfonic-modified mesoporous silicas. J. Serb. Chem. Soc., 82, 2017, DOI:doi.org/10.2298/JSC170306071P, 1-12.

6.        Popova, M., Szegedi, Á., Lazarova, H., Dimitrov, M., Kalvachev, Y., Atanasova, G., Ristić, A., Wilde, N., Gläser, R.. Influence of the preparation method of sulfated zirconia nanoparticles for levulinic acid esterification. Reaction Kinetics, Mechanisms and Catalysis, 120, 1, Springer Nature, 2017, DOI:10.1007/s11144-016-1088-4, 55-67.

7.       Kalvachev,Y., Todorova,T., Nihtianova,D., Lazarova,H., Popova,M.. Fluoride etching of mordenite and its influence on catalytic activity. 51, Journal of Materials Science, 2017, DOI:10.1007/s10853-017-0769-3, 1-12.

8.       Vicente, A., Coelho, J., Simeonov, S., Lazarova, H., Popova, M., Afonso, C.. Oxidation of 5-Chloromethylfurfural (CMF) to 2,5-Diformylfuran (DFF). Molecules, 22, 2, 2017, DOI:10.3390/molecules22020329

9.       Lazarova,H., Popova,M., Szegedi,A., Likozar,B., Dasireddy,V., Novak-Tusar,N.. Levulinic acid esterification on SO3H-modified mesoporous silicas. Bulgarian Chemical Communications, 50, Special issue H, Bulgarian Chemical Communications, 2018, 56-60.

10.   Popova, M., Lazarova, H., Trusheva, B., Popova, M., Bankova, V., Mihály, J., Najdenski, H., Tsvetkova, I., Szegedi, Á.. Nanostructured silver silica materials as potential propolis carriers. Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, 263, 2018, DOI:10.1016/j.micromeso.2017.11.043., 28-33.

11.   Popova, M., Shestakova, P., Lazarova, H., Dimitrov, M., Kovacheva, D., Szegedi, A., Mali, G., Dasireddy, V., Likozar, B., Wilde, N., Gläser, R.. Efficient solid acid catalysts based on sulfated tin oxides for liquid phase esterification of levulinic acid with ethanol. Applied Catalysis A: General, 560, Elsevier B.V., 2018, DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcata.2018.04.041, 119-131.

12.   Popova, M., Djinović, P., Ristić, A., Lazarova,H., Dražić, G., Pintar, A., Balu, A.M., Tušar, Nataša Novak.. Vapor-Phase Hydrogenation of Levulinic Acid to γ-valerolactone Over Bi-Functional Ni/HZSM-5 Catalyst. Frontiers in Chemistry, 6, 2018, DOI:10.3389/fchem.2018.00285

13.   Popova,M., Lazarova,H., Szegedi,A., Mihályi,M.R., Rangus,M., Likozar,B., Dasireddy, V.D.B.C.. Renewable glycerol esterification over sulfonic-modified mesoporous silicas. 83, 1, Journal of the Serbian Chemical Society, 2018, DOI:10.2298/JSC170306071P, 39-50

14.   Popova,M., Mihaylova,R., Momekov,G., Momekova,D., Lazarova, H, Trendafilova,I., Mitova,V., Koseva,N., Mihályi,J., Shestakova,P., St. Petkov,P., Aleksandrov,H.A., Vayssilov,Georgi N., Konstantinov,S., Szegedi,Á.. Verapamil delivery systems on the basis of mesoporous ZSM-5/KIT-6 and ZSM-5/SBA-15 polymer nanocomposites as a potential tool to overcome MDR in cancer cells. European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics, 142, 2019, DOI:10.1016/j.ejpb.2019.07.021, 460-472

15.   Simeonov, S., Lazarova, H., Marinova, M., Popova, M.. Achmatowicz rearrangement enables hydrogenolysis-free gas-phase synthesis of pentane-1,2,5-triol from furfuryl alcohol. Green Chemistry, 21, 2019, DOI:10.1039/C9GC02888A, 5657-5664.

16.   Boycheva, S., Zgureva, D., Václavíková, M., Kalvachev,Y., Lazarova,H., Popova, M.. Studies on non-modified and copper-modified coal ash zeolites as heterogeneous catalysts for VOCs oxidation. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 361, 2019, DOI:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2018.07.020, 374-382

17.   Pardo Cuervo,O.H., Simeonov,S.P., Peixoto,A.F., Popova,M.D., Lazarova,H.I., Romanelli,G.P., Martínez,J.J., Freire,C., Afonso,C.A.M.. Efficient Continuous Production of the Biofuel Additive 5-(t-Butoxymethyl) Furfural from 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural. Energy Technology, 7, 11, 2019, DOI:10.1002/ente.201900780,

18.   Pavlovic, J., Popova, M., Mihalyi, R.M., Mazaj, M., Mali, G., Kovač, J., Lazarova,H., Rajic, N.. Catalytic activity of SnO2- and SO4/SnO2-containing clinoptilolite in the esterification of levulinic acid. Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, 279, 2019, DOI:10.1016/j.micromeso.2018.12.009, 10-18.

19.   Popova, M., Koseva, N., Trendafilova, I., Lazarova, H., Mitova, V., Mihály, J., Momekova, D., Momekov, G., Koleva, I., Aleksandrov, H., Vayssilov, G., Szegedi , A.. Tamoxifen Delivery System Based on PEGylated Magnetic MCM-41 Silica. Molecules, 25, 21, 2020, DOI:https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25215129

20.   Popova,M., Boycheva,S., Lazarova,H, Zgureva,D., Lázár,K., Szegedi,Á.. VOC oxidation and CO2 adsorption on dual adsorption/catalytic system based on fly ash zeolites. Catalysis Today, 357, 2020, DOI:10.1016/j.cattod.2019.06.070, 518-525.

21.   Trendafilova, I., Mihaly, J., Momekova, D., Chimshirova, R., Lazarova, H., Momekov, G., Popova, M.. Antioxidant activity and modified release profiles of morin and hesperetin flavonoids loaded in Mg- or Ag-modified SBA-16 carriers. Materials Today Communications, 24, Article number 10119, 2020,

22.   Boycheva,S., Zgureva,D., Lazarova,H., Lazarova,K., Popov,C., Babeva,T., Popova,M.. Processing of high-grade zeolite nanocomposites from solid fuel combustion by-products as critical raw materials substitutes. Manufacturing Review, 7, Article number 22, 2020, DOI:10.1051/mfreview/2020019

23.   Boycheva,S., Zgureva,D., Lazarova,K., Babeva,T., Popov,C., Lazarova,H., Popova,M.. Progress in the utilization of coal fly ash by conversion to zeolites with green energy applications. Materials, 13, 9, 2020, DOI:10.3390/MA13092014,

24.   Todorova, T., Shestakova, P., Petrova, T., Popova, M., Lazarova, H., Kalvachev, Y.. Fluoride etching of AlZSM-5 and GaZSM-5 zeolites. Journal of Materials Science, 28, 55, Springer, 2020, DOI:10.1007/s10853-020-05030-6, 13799-13814.

25.   Popova, M., Koseva, N., Trendafilova, I., Lazarova, H., Mitova, V., Mihály, J., Momekova, D., Konstantinov, S., Koleva, I., Petkov, P., Vayssilov, G., Aleksandrov, H., Szegedi, A.. Design of PEG-modified magnetic nanoporous silica based miltefosine delivery system: Experimental and theoretical approaches. Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, 310, 2021, DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.micromeso.2020.110664, 110664.

26.   Popova, M., Szegedi, A., Oykova, M., Lazarova, H., Koseva, N., Mihályi, M.R., Mitrev, Y., Shestakova, P.. Hydrodemethoxylation/Dealkylation on Bifunctional Nanosized Zeolite Beta. Molecules, 26, 24, 2021,

27.   Popova,M., Szegedi,Á., Oykova,M., Lazarova,H., Koseva,N., Mihályi,M.R., Shestakova,P.. Selective production of phenol on bifunctional, hierarchical zsm-5 zeolites. Molecules, 26, 12, 2021, DOI:10.3390/molecules26123576,

28.   Ravutsov, M., Mitrev,Y., Shestakova,P., Lazarova,H., Simeonov,S., Popova,M.. CO2 Adsorption on Modified Mesoporous Silicas: The Role of the Adsorption Sites. Nanomaterials, 11, 11, 2021, DOI:https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11112831,

29.   Shestakova, P., Popova, M., Szegedi, A., Lazarova, H., Luong, T. K. N., Trendafilova, I., Mihály, J., Parac-Vogt, T. N.. Hybrid catalyst with combined Lewis and Brønsted acidity based on ZrIV substituted polyoxometalate grafted on mesoporous MCM-41 silica for esterification of renewable levulinic acid. Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, 323, 2021, 111203

30.   Trendafilova, I., Lazarova, H., Chimshirova, R., Trusheva, B., Koseva, N., Popova, M.. Novel kaempferol delivery systems based on Mg-containing MCM-41 mesoporous silicas. Journal of Solid State Chemistry, 301, Elsevier, 2021, DOI:10.1016/j.jssc.2021.122323, 122323

31.   Boycheva,S., Zgureva,D., Lazarova,H., Popova,M.. Comparative studies of carbon capture onto coal fly ash zeolites Na-X and Na–Ca-X. Chemosphere, 271, 2021, DOI:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.129505

32.   Žumbar,T., Ristić ,A., Dražić, G., Lazarova, H., Volavšek, J., Pintar,A., Logar,N.Z., Tušar, N.N.. Influence of alumina precursor properties on cu-fe alumina supported catalysts for total toluene oxidation as a model volatile organic air pollutant. Catalysts, 11, 2, 2021, DOI:10.3390/catal11020252