Total Synthesis of Complex Molecules

通过这一奖项，化学系的化学合成项目支持了加州大学洛杉矶分校(UCLA)尼尔·加格教授的基础研究。加格教授正在从事几种重要分子的化学合成，这些分子具有有趣的化学性质和结构。科学家以有效的方式合成这种分子的能力对农业化学、材料科学和药物发现都是有用的。在这个项目中，Garg教授将化学合成与从自然中分离出来的酶的合成结合在一起，导致了多功能和简化的程序，这些程序可能会产生超出正在研究的特定分子的影响。加格教授和他的研究生为洛杉矶社区的幼儿表演化学和科学演示，特别是到加州大学洛杉矶分校克里格日托和华纳小学。他还创建了一系列由行业赞助的讲师(大约每年10位)，其中一位知名院士将与一位行业代表(制药或农用化学)一起访问加州大学洛杉矶分校，与研究生和本科生互动，并就最近的尖端研究发表研讨会。Garg教授和他的女儿们出版了《有机配色书》，这本书为世界各地的儿童(和成年人)提供了一种有趣的手段，让他们了解有机化学对我们日常生活的巨大影响。已向当地学校的儿童和普通公众捐赠了1200多份。加格教授正在研究两类重要的有机分子。第一个属于单萜吲哚生物碱，它在50年前首次被分离出来，但从未通过全合成获得过。这种天然产物具有生物活性，具有挑战性的化学结构，是所有其他单萜吲哚生物碱的最后通用生物合成前体，包括化疗药物长春花碱。加格教授正在研究首次通过化学-酶联合方法全合成斯特拉托西丁。他和他的团队还在寻求合成一种复杂的碳氢化合物，这种化合物具有长期的科学兴趣，对合成化学来说是一个臭名昭著的挑战。这一合成中的关键转变也具有理论意义，因为它可以通过协调或循序渐进的方式进行。在化学合成方面的探索，如这些，正在定义已知反应的范围和限制，并推动合成化学的现代状态。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

With this award, the Chemical Synthesis program of the Division of Chemistry is supporting the fundamental research of Professor Neil Garg at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Professor Garg is pursuing the chemical synthesis of several important molecules that possess interesting chemical properties and structures. The ability of scientists to synthesize such molecules in an efficient manner is instrumental to agrochemistry, materials science, and drug discovery. In this project, Professor Garg is merging chemical synthesis with synthesis by enzymes isolated from nature, leading to versatile and streamlined procedures that could have impacts beyond the specific molecules that are being studied. Professor Garg and his graduate students perform chemistry and science demonstrations for young children in the Los Angeles community, specifically to the UCLA Krieger Daycare and Warner Elementary School. He has also created a series of industrial-sponsored lecturers (roughly 10 per year), where a prominent academician will visit UCLA with an industrial representative (pharmaceuticals or agrochemistry) to interact with graduate and undergraduate students and deliver seminars on recent cutting edge research. Professor Garg and his daughters publish ?The Organic Coloring Book?, which provides a fun means for children (and adults) worldwide to learn about the tremendous impact organic chemistry has on our everyday lives. More than 1200 copies have been donated to children at local schools and to the general public. Professor Garg is studying two important classes of organic molecules. The first pertains to the monoterpene indole alkaloid strictosidine, which was first isolated fifty years ago, but has never been accessed by total synthesis. This natural product displays biological activity, possesses a challenging chemical structure, and serves as the last universal biosynthetic precursor to all other monoterpene indole alkaloids, including the chemotherapeutic vinblastine. Professor Garg is studying the first total synthesis of strictosidine via a combined chemo-enzymatic approach. He and his team are also pursuing the synthesis of a complex hydrocarbon that is of longstanding scientific interest and is a notorious challenge for synthetic chemistry. The key transformation in this synthesis is also of theoretical interest as it can proceed via a concerted or stepwise manner. Forays in chemical synthesis, such as these, are defining the scope and limitations of known reactions and advancing the modern state of synthetic chemistry.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.