Sustainable Technologies for Building Molecules: Ethers, Phosphines, and Amino Acids

在化学系化学催化计划的支持下，加州大学欧文分校的Vy Dong教授正在研究开发新的催化反应，以加快合成有机分子的速度，提高效率，减少浪费。富含地球的镍催化剂将被用于构建C-O键和精确控制三维分子形状的非天然氨基酸。还将利用光催化和铜催化来探索将硒引入小分子和构建新的不对称膦配体。该项目旨在加深对如何建立具有挑战性的化学键的理解，同时减少对贵金属的依赖。精确控制分子的形状对于优化和微调药物和材料的性能至关重要；因此，这一提议正在创造分子构建工具，以使其他领域的科学家能够设计未来的疗法和材料技术。这些活动还有望为不同的研究生、本科生和高中生研究人员提供培训。董教授还领导了通过社交媒体让学生和公众参与化学讨论的活动，并增加了女性在化学领域的榜样和网络机会的可见度。开发新的催化剂，使有机分子对映体选择性合成的可持续方法，对于在药物、材料和生物探针的制备方面取得持续进展至关重要。该计划以催化策略为特色，以应对合成中的现代挑战。根据该奖项，董教授和她的研究团队将追求以下目标：(1)激活硫基进行氢化功能化，(2)设计和构建膦，(3)构建氨基酸和环肽的新路线。这三个主要目标是过渡金属催化剂，包括那些来自地球上丰富的第一排金属的催化剂(例如，镍催化的不对称醇加成，铜磷化转化，以及镍催化的氰基酯和丙二烯偶联)。这些方向的努力主要集中在获得有机结构上，这些有机结构是目前不对称催化技术难以制备的，包括手性醚、膦和多肽。这些活动的机械性方法将帮助参与的研究生获得批判性分析和故障排除技能，并将使本科生和高中生参与基础水平的化学研究。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

With the support of the Chemical Catalysis Program in the Division of Chemistry, Professor Vy Dong of the University of California, Irvine is studying the development of new catalytic reactions to expedite the synthesis of organic molecules with improved efficiency and reduced waste. Earth-abundant nickel catalysts will be investigated for the construction of C-O bonds and unnatural amino acids with precise control of three-dimensional molecular shape. The introduction of selenium into small molecules and the construction of new asymmetric phosphine ligands will also be explored using photocatalysis and copper catalysis. This project sets out to advance understanding of how to build challenging chemical bonds, while also reducing reliance on precious metals. Precisely controlling the shape of molecules is critical for optimization and fine-tuning the performance of medicines and materials; therefore, this proposal is creating tools for molecular construction to empower scientists in other fields to design future therapies and materials technologies. These activities are further expected to provide training for a diverse group of graduate, undergraduate, and high school student researchers. Professor Dong is also leading initiatives to engage students and the public in chemistry discussions via social media and increasing the visibility of role models and networking opportunities for women in chemistry.The development of new catalysts that enable sustainable methods for the enantioselective synthesis of organic molecules is essential to achieve continued advances in the preparation of medicines, materials, and biological probes. This program features catalytic strategies to address modern challenges in synthesis. Under this award, Professor Dong and her research team will pursue the following goals: (1) activating chalcogens for hydrofunctionalization, (2) designing and constructing phosphines and (3) forging novel routes to amino acids and cyclic peptides. These three primary objectives feature transition metal catalysts, including those derived from earth abundant first row metals (e.g., Ni-catalyzed asymmetric alcohol additions, Cu-phosphido transformations, and Ni-catalyzed cyano-ester and allene couplings). Efforts in these directions are focused on accessing organic structures that have been difficult to prepare by current asymmetric catalysis technologies, including chiral ethers, phosphines, and peptides. The mechanistic approach to these activities will help enable the participating graduate students to gain critical analysis and troubleshooting skills and will also engage undergraduate and high school students in chemical research at a fundamental level.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.