LEAPS-MPS: Exploring the Utility of Bifunctional Reagents for the Visible Light-Mediated Synthesis of Heterocycles and Biologically Relevant Molecules

在这个由美国国家科学基金会化学部门管理的项目中，Milligan教授和他在托马斯·杰斐逊大学的学生们旨在设计和研究能够在暴露于可见光下在分子中形成环状结构的新化学试剂。Milligan教授计划使用新开发的试剂创造新的方法，将可见光化学整合到本科有机化学课程中。该项目将支持并扩大托马斯·杰斐逊大学与费城公立学区之间的合作关系。这些努力的目标是提高高中学生对STEM职业机会的获取和理解。Milligan教授和他的学生专注于设计、合成和研究能够在蓝色LED光照射下形成杂环的试剂。所研究的试剂在本质上是“双功能”的，这意味着它们能够在同一个烧瓶中依次进行传统的极性和可见光引发的自由基反应。这项工作的目标是利用化学反应性的范式来研究各种环分子的合成，包括生物感兴趣的分子。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。

In this project managed by the Chemistry Division at NSF, Professor Milligan and his students at Thomas Jefferson University aim to design and study new chemical reagents that are capable of forming ring structures in molecules upon exposure to visible light. Prof. Milligan plans to use the newly developed reagents to create new approaches for integrating visible light-enabled chemistry into undergraduate organic chemistry curricula. The project will support and expand partnerships between Thomas Jefferson University and the public school district in the city of Philadelphia. The goals of these efforts are to improve access and understanding of career opportunities in STEM among high school students. Professor Milligan and his students focus on the design, synthesis, and study of reagents that are capable of forming heterocycles upon irradiation with blue LED light. The reagents of interest are “bifunctional” in nature, meaning that they are capable of both traditional polar and visible light-triggered radical reactions sequentially in the same flask. The goal of the work is to leverage the paradigm of chemical reactivity to investigate the synthesis of a variety of cyclic molecules, including molecules of biological interest.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.