Visible Light Photocatalysis

描述（由申请人提供）：光化学方法是独一无二的，因为(1)它们可以合成其他方法无法合成的不寻常的，紧张的分子框架，(2)它们使用光，比传统化学试剂更清洁，更便宜，更可再生。然而，制药公司很少利用光化学合成，因为需要专门的光化学设备是不切实际的障碍，因为很少有方法来控制光化学反应的立体化学存在。因此，光化学合成产生的分子结构基本上没有作为可能的候选药物进行检查。该提案描述了一种创新的新策略，使用易于获得的可见光源（如消费者灯泡或环境阳光）而不是专门的光化学反应器来进行光化学反应。研究将分两个阶段进行：一种光催化系统的开发，能够有效地将可见光能量转化为具有高水平立体化学控制的化学反应性。2. 将该系统应用于产生不同寻常分子结构的各种新化学反应。这些方法功能强大，健壮，并且易于在大型工业相关规模上执行。因此，本提案中描述的研究将对学术化学社区和更广泛的药物化学家社区产生重大影响，他们需要新的分子构建方法来发现下一代救命药物。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Photochemical methods are unique because (1) they enable the synthesis of unusual, strained molecular frameworks that cannot be synthesized by other methods, and (2) they use light, which is cleaner, less expensive, and more renewable than conventional chemical reagents. Nevertheless, pharmaceutical companies rarely take advantage of photochemical synthesis because the need for specialized photochemical equipment is an impractical impediment and because very few methods to control the stereochemistry of photochemical reactions exist. Therefore, the structures of the molecules that are produced by photochemical synthesis have essentially not been examined as possible drug candidates. This Proposal describes an innovative new strategy to perform photochemical reactions using readily available sources of visible light such as a consumer light bulb or ambient sunlight instead of a specialized photochemical reactor. Research will proceed in two phases: 1. Development of a photocatalytic system that is able to efficiently convert visible light energy into chemical reactivity with high levels of stereochemical control. 2. Application of this system to a variety of new chemical reactions that produce unusual molecular structures. These methods are powerful, robust, and simple to perform on large, industrially relevant scales. Thus, the research described in this proposal will significantly impact both the academic chemistry community and the broader community of medicinal chemists who require new methods of molecule construction to discover the next generation of life-saving drugs. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The function of a drug is determined by its structure, and drugs with similar structures tend to have similar effects on human disease. The discovery of new drugs that could treat currently incurable diseases, therefore, relies upon the ability of chemists to construct different kinds of molecules that differ significantly in structure from known medicinal agents. We are developing a conceptually novel approach to chemical synthesis that takes advantage of the clean, renewable energy in sunlight to construct complex, structurally unique molecules that may serve as templates for the discovery of the next generation of disease-fighting drugs.