With this award, the Synthetic Organic Program is supporting the research of Dr. Andrew G. Myers in the Department of Chemistry at the California Institute of Technology. The research encompasses three separte areas, each designed to investigate a new strategy or chemical reaction in organic synthesis. Dr. Meyers will further develop radical-cyclization methodology in which an aldehyde and an alcohol are covalently bonded through an O-silyl hemiselenoacetal intermediate. Studies will be carried out on an aldol process that leads to anti-aldol condensation and, hopefully, a "chiral catalytic aldol" reaction will emerge. Third, a transannular radical cyclization will be used for the construction of the cembranoid natural product epoxybasmenone. Dr. Meyers will study areas of synthetic methodology that focus on new carbon-carbon bond forming reactions, a silicon- directed aldol condensation reaction and the development of transannular radical cyclization reactions. If successful, the reactions will provide synthetic chemists with new and powerful techniques for use in the construction of complex organic molecules.
