With funding from the Organic Dynamics Program, Professor Jaeger at the University of Wyoming will investigate the concept that organized media in the form of surfactants can be used to control and increase the regioselectivity of Diels-Alder reactions. In this concept, the reagents will aggregate inside of a molecular box(surfactant) that will favor certain orientations which predetermines the reagent trajectories and thereby the products. Further, as a result of this predisposition of reagents, the energy necessary to facilitate the process in the succeeding steps will be lessened. Thus, the reactions can be conducted at lower temperatures and regioselectivity should increase. If successful, the results would have significant impact on the area of organic synthesis. Achievement of control over a commonly used organic reaction methodology would provide academic and industrial scientists a significant advantage. This research effort is designed to determine whether surfactants can be useful in controlling some aspects of the Diels-Alder reaction which is a common methodology in organic synthesis. To control this reaction so as to produce only one type of product would be a major achievement
