ORGN 294 |
| One of the ultimate goals in organic chemistry is the catalytic asymmetric assembly of simple and readily available precursor molecules into stereochemically complex products. As chemists, we often turn to nature for inspiration where the asymmetric assembly of simple achiral building blocks into stereochemically complex molecules has long been the purview of nature's enzymes. Our approach to this problem began in 1997 when we embarked upon studies exploring the similarity between proline and a novel class of aldolase antibodies we had developed earlier. These studies allowed us to describe the first direct organocatalytic asymmetric aldol, Michael, Mannich, multicomponent, and Diels-Alder reactions. Significantly, many of these studies were originally designed for antibody catalysis years before. A focus of the lecture will be on the design of novel catalysts that provide reactivities and selectivities that go beyond those of proline that we have previously documented. |
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Organocatalysis
1:00 PM-5:05 PM, Monday, 11 September 2006 Moscone Center -- Room 135, Oral
Division of Organic Chemistry |