Total Synthesis of Complex Molecules

有了这个奖项，化学系的化学合成计划正在支持加州大学洛杉矶分校（UCLA）的Neil Garg教授的基础研究。Garg教授正在进行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。科学家以有效方式合成此类分子的能力有助于农业化学，材料科学和药物发现。在这个项目中，Garg教授正在将化学合成与从自然界分离的酶合成相结合，从而产生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。Garg教授和他的研究生为洛杉矶社区的幼儿进行化学和科学演示，特别是加州大学洛杉矶分校的Krieger日托和华纳小学。他还创建了一系列工业赞助的讲师（每年约10名），其中一位杰出的院士将与工业代表（制药或农业化学）一起访问加州大学洛杉矶分校，与研究生和本科生互动，并就最近的前沿研究举办研讨会。加格教授和他的女儿们出版了有机着色书？这为全世界的儿童（和成人）提供了一个有趣的方式来了解有机化学对我们日常生活的巨大影响。超过1200份已捐赠给当地学校的儿童和公众。加格教授正在研究两类重要的有机分子。第一个是单萜吲哚生物碱strictosidine，它是50年前首次分离出来的，但从未通过全合成获得。这种天然产物具有生物活性，具有挑战性的化学结构，并作为所有其他单萜吲哚生物碱（包括化疗药物长春碱）的最后一种通用生物合成前体。Garg教授正在研究通过结合化学-酶促方法首次全合成strictosidine。他和他的团队还在寻求一种复杂碳氢化合物的合成，这种碳氢化合物具有长期的科学兴趣，并且是合成化学的一个臭名昭著的挑战。这种合成中的关键转变也具有理论意义，因为它可以通过协调一致或逐步的方式进行。在化学合成领域的探索，如这些，正在定义已知反应的范围和限制，并推进合成化学的现代状态。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

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.