New opportunities in domino reactions and homogenous gold(I) catalysis

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The development of new synthetic methods for the formation of carbon-carbon bonds is of paramount importance for the efficient synthesis of molecules having important application in medicine, material science, biofuels, etc. Furthermore, the ever-increasing emphasis being placed on sustainability, the need for efficient and waste-minimizing processes is becoming more and more important. In this proposal, we will investigate new directions in domino reactions and gold catalysis, merging these concepts for the development of powerful methods of general applicability for the synthesis of medicinally important molecules.Au(I/III) complexes are soft Lewis acids which selectively coordinate to p-systems, notably, alkynes and allenes. As a result, this makes the substrate p-system deficient in electrons thus favoring the addition of nucleophiles. In recent years, homogenous catalysis by gold has received considerable attention by the scientific community. Applications of gold catalysis in stereoselective synthesis have been largely overlooked. Based upon recent development in our laboratory, we will explore gold catalysis, domino reactions and their applications in total synthesis of complex natural products.