New Methods for Asymmetric Carbon-Carbon Bond Formation

功能化分子的制备是有机合成中的一个中心主题，也是相关应用科学如医学和生物技术的核心。大量的生物活性有机分子，包括市场上的几种药剂，可以以两种不同的结构形式存在，这两种结构形式是不可重叠的镜像。这些被称为对映体。有趣的是，两种可能的对映异构体中只有一种具有所需的生物活性，而另一种是无活性的或有毒的。因此，化学方法制备单一对映体具有重要的现实意义。该提案的中心主题是发展这种制备方法，这些方法被广泛地描述为有机化合物的“不对称合成”方法。 制造有机分子的重要方法之一是通过在这些结构单元中选定的碳原子之间形成新的键来连接小的、容易获得的结构单元。拟议的调查将审查新的方法，使碳-碳键的方式，一个对映体形成优先。还将研究制造碳-氧键和碳-氮键的相关方法。 计划中的研究具有发现不对称合成和催化的新进展的巨大潜力，这将对合成化学界产生广泛和根本的兴趣。这些调查将提供补充性战略，这些战略更具选择性，可能具有更广泛的范围，而且也是无害环境的。预计新方法将应用于制备用于治疗疾病的药物化合物，以及开发应用于健康和材料科学的分子。

The preparation of functionalized molecules is a central theme in organic synthesis and it is at the core of the related applied sciences such as medicine and biotechnology. A large number of biologically active organic molecules, including several medicinal agents on the market, can exist in two distinct structural forms which are non-superimposable mirror images. These are known as enantiomers. Interestingly, only one of the two possible enantiomers has the desired biological activity whereas the other is either inactive or toxic. Consequently, chemical methods for the preparation of single enantiomers are of great practical significance. The central theme of this proposal is the development of such preparative methods, and these are broadly described as methods for 'asymmetric synthesis' of organic compounds. One of the important methods of making organic molecules involves the joining of small, readily available building blocks by making new bonds between selected carbon atoms in these building blocks. The proposed investigations will examine new methods for making carbon-carbon bonds in such a way that one enantiomer is formed preferentially. Related methods for making carbon-oxygen and carbon-nitrogen bonds will also be studied. The planned research has significant potential to uncover novel advances in asymmetric synthesis and catalysis that will be of wide-ranging and fundamental interest to the synthetic chemistry community. The investigations will provide complementary strategies that are more selective, may have broader scope and are also environmentally sound. The new methods are anticipated to have applications in the preparation of medicinal compounds for the treatment of disease, and in the development of molecules with applications in the health and material sciences.