CAREER: Chiral Catalysts for Enantioselective Photoredox-Catalyzed Carbon-Carbon Bond-Forming Reactions

在这个由美国国家科学基金会化学部化学催化计划资助的项目中，斯托尼布鲁克大学化学系的魏明宇教授开发了新的和有效的光化学反应来制备手性有机分子。 手性分子以特定的构型存在，称为对映体。 每种构型都有相同的原子，但空间排列顺序不同，这导致了不同的化学性质。本项目的目标是设计和优化新型催化剂以产生特定的对映体。 选择一种特定的对映体通常很重要，因为另一种对映体无效或有害。本研究开发的新合成方法可能在药物、农药和材料化学的合成中具有应用价值。该计划的一个组成部分是招募和准备多元化的STEM（科学，技术，工程和数学）劳动力，以推进科学的前沿。该项目通过与一家大型制药公司合作，为学生提供工业培训的机会。 倪教授建立了一个动手合成模块，向高中生介绍有机合成和分子光化学，并建立了一个暑期工业实习计划，为研究生未来在先进化学制造业的职业生涯做好准备。超过一半的畅销药物都是以单一对映体销售的;通常是因为另一种对映体无效或有害。因此，可以容易地增加分子的结构复杂性，同时保持对新形成的立体中心的立体化学的控制的催化反应在药物发现和开发中是重要的。可见光光氧化还原催化在有机合成中已成为一种潜在的强有力的工具。 这种催化作用改变了化学家处理一些困难的合成问题的方式。光催化反应的精确立体控制仍然是一个重大的挑战。本研究的重点是设计和开发手性刘易斯酸催化剂，使立体选择性，可见光介导的光氧化还原催化。这些新的催化剂被应用于羰基和亚胺基衍生物与烯烃的不对称交叉偶联反应。该项目产生了一个新的三齿手性配体和手性催化剂，指导不对称化学转化的发展库。魏教授开发的动手有机合成活动丰富了高中生的教育经验，并鼓励他们攻读STEM（科学，技术，工程和数学）教育的高级学位。这些活动亦为职前化学教师提供培训机会，促进他们的专业发展。Boehringer Ingelheim为研究生建立的工业合作和暑期实习计划进一步支持了先进化学制造业的职业发展。该奖项反映了NSF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, funded by the Chemical Catalysis program of the NSF Chemistry Division, Professor Ming-Yu Ngai of the Department of Chemistry at Stony Brook University develops new and efficient photochemical reactions to prepare chiral organic molecules. Chiral molecules exist in specific configurations known as enantiomers. Each configuration has the same atoms, but arranged spatial in a different order, this results in different chemical properties. The goal of this project is to design and optimize novel catalysts to yield specific enantiomers. It is often important to select one specific enantiomer because the other is ineffective or harmful. New synthetic methods developed in this research may have applications in the syntheses of pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and materials chemistry. An integral part of this program is to recruit and prepare a diverse STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) workforce to advance the frontiers of science. This project provides students with opportunities for industrial training through collaboration with a major pharmaceutical company. Professor Ngai establishes a hands-on synthetic module to introduce organic synthesis and molecular photochemistry to high school students and a summer industrial internship program to better prepare graduate students for future careers in advanced chemical manufacturing.Over half of all top-selling drugs are marketed as single enantiomers; often because the other enantiomer is ineffective or harmful. As a consequence, catalytic reactions that can readily increase the structural complexity of molecules while maintaining control of the stereochemistry of the newly formed stereocenters are of importance in drug discovery and development. Visible-light photoredox catalysis has emerged as a potentially powerful tool in organic synthesis. This catalysis has changed the way in which chemists approach some difficult synthetic problems. Precise stereocontrol of photocatalytic reactions remains a significant challenge. This research focuses on the design and development of chiral Lewis acid catalysts which enable stereoselective, visible-light mediated photoredox catalysis. These new catalysts are applied to enantioselective cross-coupling reactions of carbonyl and iminyl derivatives with alkenes. This project generates a library of novel tridentate chiral ligands and chiral catalysts that guide the development of asymmetric chemical transformations. The hands-on organic synthesis activities developed by Professor Ngai enrich the educational experience of high school students and encourage them to pursue advanced degrees in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education. These activities also provide training opportunities to pre-service chemistry teachers for their professional development. An established industrial collaboration and a summer internship program for graduate students at Boehringer Ingelheim further support career development in advanced chemical manufacturing.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.