SBIR Phase I: Development and commercialization of organic photocatalysts for light-driven C-N cross-coupling reaction

这项小型企业创新研究（SBIR）项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是开发特殊的无金属催化剂，以大幅降低化学品制造成本。此外，这些催化剂显著扩大了光驱动反应的范围，导致制药、医疗保健、农业、生物、材料科学和其他行业的深刻进步。由于光驱动化学技术主要依赖稀缺和昂贵的贵金属催化剂，因此目前仅限于小规模的研发应用。在规模上，使用无金属催化剂的光驱动技术可以大大降低化学制造成本，取代依赖昂贵贵金属的传统反应，这些反应也仅限于特定类别的反应。这种新的化学物质将极大地扩展光驱动化学技术应用的可能性，通过更低的成本带来新的产品和更多的消费者。这项小型企业创新研究（SBIR）一期项目旨在证明无金属（有机）光氧化还原催化剂（PCs）在具有挑战性和重要的药物反应中的适用性。有机pc是光氧化还原催化的关键推动者，光氧化还原催化是一个新兴的化学领域，在药物开发中具有重要的牵引力。在光吸收的驱动下，光氧化还原催化比传统的热驱动方法（如钯催化）具有显著的优势，包括成本、易用性和更广泛的使用领域。重要的是，有机pc是主要使用的贵金属pc的可持续和可扩展的替代品，允许光氧化还原催化扩展到全面的工业用途，包括药物制造。为了促进光氧化还原催化的工业应用，研究目标包括证明有机pc在医学上重要反应中的可行性，同时扩大底物范围，包括通常用于药物设计的生物相关和高度功能化底物。由有机pc驱动的光氧化催化反应将获得超越传统热驱动催化能力的新化学。此外，在量子模拟的指导下，新型高性能有机pc将被开发出具有超越文献报道的独特性能，从而开启新的变革。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。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is to develop special metal-free catalysts to dramatically reduce chemical manufacturing costs. In addition, these catalysts significantly expand the range of light-driven reactions, leading to profound advancements in pharmaceuticals, healthcare, agriculture, biology, material science, and other industries. Because light-driven chemical technology predominantly relies on scarce and expensive precious metal catalysts, it is limited today to small-scale R&D applications only. At scale, light-driven technology using metal-free catalysts can greatly reduce chemical manufacturing costs by replacing conventional reactions that rely on expensive precious metals, which are also limited to specific classes of reactions. This new chemistry will significantly expand the possibilities for applications of light-driven chemical technology, leading to novel products and greater consumer access through lower costs.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to demonstrate the suitability of metal-free (organic) photoredox catalysts (PCs) in challenging and important pharmaceutical reactions. Organic PCs are key enablers of photoredox catalysis, an emerging field of chemistry gaining significant traction in drug development. Driven by light absorption, photoredox catalysis offers significant advantages over conventional heat-driven methods (e.g. Pd catalysis), including cost, ease of use, and broadened fields-of-use. Importantly, organic PCs are sustainable and scalable alternatives to predominantly used precious metal PCs, allowing photoredox catalysis to extend to full industrial use, including drug manufacturing. To spur industrial adoption of photoredox catalysis, research objectives include proving feasibility of organic PCs in medicinally important reactions, while expanding substrate scope to include biologically relevant and highly functionalized substrates typically used in drug designs. Photoredox-catalyzed reactions powered by organic PCs will access new chemistries beyond capabilities of conventional heat-driven catalysis. In addition, guided by quantum simulations, new high-performance organic PCs will be developed with unique properties beyond those reported in the literature, unlocking new transformations.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.