The focus of this research is the use of vicinal tricarbonyl compounds as electrophiles in organic synthesis. Targets chosen for preparation include zaragozic acid A and fumitremorgin B. In a related study, acyl cyano phosphoranylidine derivatives of amino acids will be used as masked alpha-keto amides for the synthesis of macrocyclic alpha keto lactams. With this award, the Synthetic Organic Program is supporting the research of Dr. Harry H. Wasserman of the Department of Chemistry at Yale University. Professor Wasserman will focus his work on developing synthetic methods that use tricarbonyl compounds as key units in bond forming reactions leading to products having interesting biological properties.
