This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). This project will continue work on the development of methods for the regio- and chemoselective assembly of carbo- and heterocyclic organic structures using the [2+2+2] cyclotrimerization reaction as a key step. Despite innovative research development over the last decades, transition-metal catalyzed cyclotrimerization reactions still suffer from inherent selectivity and reactivity issues. This research will address these fundamental problems through the synergistic combination of solid-supported chemistry, linker design, catalyst development, and the utilization of microwave irradiation. The unifying cyclotrimerization conditions discovered through this work will be applied to the synthesis of different benzene- and pyridine-containing natural products.
With this award, the Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry Program is supporting the research of Professor Alexander Deiters in the Department of Chemistry at North Carolina State University. Professor Deiters' research efforts revolve around the development of new methods for the rapid assembly of carbo- and hetero-cyclic structures using cycloaddition reactions. Such chemistry will contribute efficient synthetic methodologies, which will have an impact in the pharmaceutical and agricultural industries. The developed methodology will also enable the assembly of organic molecules in a more energy efficient way than existing methodologies.
