Total Synthesis of Complex Molecules

通过这个奖项，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。Garg教授正在研究几种具有有趣化学性质和结构的重要分子的化学合成。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帮助的。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，从而产生多功能和流线型的程序，其影响可能超出正在研究的特定分子。Garg教授和他的研究生为洛杉矶社区的孩子们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。他还创建了一系列由工业界赞助的讲师（每年大约10次），其中一位杰出的院士将带着工业界代表（制药或农业化学）访问加州大学洛杉矶分校，与研究生和本科生互动，并就最新的前沿研究发表研讨会。Garg教授和他的女儿们出版的？有机着色书？，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。已经有1200多本捐赠给了当地学校的孩子们和公众。Garg教授正在研究两类重要的有机分子。第一个是单萜吲哚类生物碱strictosidine，它在50年前首次被分离出来，但从未被全合成。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（包括化疗长春花碱）的最后一个通用生物合成前体。Garg教授正在研究通过化学-酶联合方法第一次完全合成strictosidine。他和他的团队还致力于合成一种复杂的碳氢化合物，这是长期以来科学界的兴趣所在，也是合成化学的一个臭名昭著的挑战。这种综合中的关键转变也具有理论意义，因为它可以通过协调或逐步的方式进行。诸如此类的化学合成方面的尝试，定义了已知反应的范围和局限性，并推动了合成化学的现代发展。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并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，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.