The Synthetic Organic Program is funding the research of Dr. Ronald Caple of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. In this Research in Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) project, Dr. Caple will collaborate with Dr. William A. Smit of the Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry, Moscow, USSR to involve undergraduates in the development of new synthetic organic methodology based on cobalt-mediated addition reactions to unsaturated carbon compounds. The research will use cobalt-mediated stepwise addition reactions across the double bond of conjugated enynes to develop a general preparative method for the synthesis of polyunsaturated acetylene derivatives. These derivatives will be precursors for intramolecular cycloadditions including ?2 + 2 + 1!, ?2 + 2! and ?4 + 2! variations. The resulting polycyclics will afford entry into a number of systems including polyquinanes, fenestranes and heterocyclic compounds.
