Design, Synthesis and Applications of Chiral N-Heterocyclic and Organometallic Reagents

许多有机分子可以以左手或右手形式存在。虽然这些分子除了互为镜像外，在所有方面都是相同的，但它们可能具有截然不同的生理特性。公众在20世纪60年代开始意识到有机分子中的“惯用手性”，当时，人们将沙利度胺作为左旋和右旋的混合物给孕妇服用，以对抗晨吐。虽然这种药物的右旋形式是有益的，但左旋形式会导致儿童严重的出生缺陷，因此沙利度胺很快被禁止。随后，广泛的努力放在合成有机分子有选择地在纯左手或右手形式使用“手”催化剂；这些努力今天仍在继续。这项提议的研究概述了一类新的“手性”分子，直到最近还不容易制备，但对于新的催化剂的发展有令人兴奋的前景。预计新的催化剂将为开发新的化学转化提供机会，以选择性地制造手性分子，其中许多潜在的好处之一包括制备更安全的药物。

Many organic molecules can exist in left or right-handed forms. While these molecules are identical in all respects except that they are mirror images of each other, they can have profoundly different physiological properties. The public became aware of the "handedness" in organic molecules in the 1960's when the drug thalidomide was given as a mixture of left and right-handed forms to pregnant women to combat morning sickness. Although the right-handed form of the drug was beneficial, the left-handed form caused severe birth defects in children, and thalidomide was quickly banned. Subsequently, extensive efforts were placed on synthesizing organic molecules selectively in purely left or right-handed forms by using "handed" catalysts; these efforts continue today. The proposed research outlines a new class of "handed" molecules which until recently could not be easily prepared, but for which there are exciting prospects for new catalyst development. It is anticipated that the new catalysts will offer opportunities to develop new chemical transformations with which to selectively make handed molecules, of which one of the many potential benefits includes the preparation of safer drugs.