New catalysis concepts

ORGN 197

David W. C. MacMillan, dmacmill@princeton.edu, Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, 116 Frick Laboratory, Princeton, NJ 08540
Over the last ten years, the field of organocatalysis has grown from a small collection of chemically unique or unusual reactions to a thriving area of general concepts, atypical reactivities and broadly useful reactions. While the modern era of organocatalysis still remains in its infancy, growth in this new chemical field continues to move at a breathtaking pace.

In this presentation, we will demonstrate a variety of new and valuable transformations based on the catalysis concepts of iminium-activation, enamine-activation, acid activation and SOMO activation. We will also highlight an alternative strategy for natural product synthesis that we hope will provide the strategic foundations to bypass the “taxol problem.”