This research is being funded by the Organic Synthesis Program. Dr. Overman will continue his development of new ring forming reactions, particularly focussing on the medium ring range. This will provide some of the new tools required by the increasingly complex demands of agriculture and industry. The studies for the project focus in two areas: (1) Developing new cyclization reactions for forming medium rings. Of all types of rings (small, common, medium and large) existing methods are least satisfactory for preparing medium rings. (2) Developing electrophilic cyclization reactions that are promoted by nucleophiles. Reactions of this type were recently discovered and hold exciting promise for greatly expanding the utility of simple alkynes in chemical synthesis.
