The (4+1)-cycloaddition of electron-rich carbenes / la cycloaddition-(4+1) de carbènes riches en électrons

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We discovered a new chemical reaction a few years ago. We are now striving to optimize its yields and to widen its scope in the hope of making it a useful and prized reaction. The reaction transforms, in one step, a molecule, that consists of one highly reactive donor end (the carbene) and an acceptor end (the diene), into a more complex structure that includes rings and stereochemical (3-D) centers. It has the potential to help us build complex natural and unnatural molecules that could be tommorow's medicines. We have evidence that the reaction proceeds through a reaction mechanism that should allow us to predict the 3-D structure of the end product consistantly (a concerted mechanism). For that reason, we believe that studying in more depth the mechanism of the reaction will allow us to better understand how to augment the number of compatible substrates. We plan to do so and to then apply the new methodology to the synthesis of several natural products, in order to test its power and viability.