Faculty Mentor
Sean Devine
Major/Area of Research
Forensic Science
Description
Virtually all of the top pharmaceuticals sold today require the use of organic
synthesis, the development of new strategies to construct complex molecules
from readily synthesized starting materials is essential to the field
of organic chemistry and drug design. In pharmaceutical design there is a
continuing trend toward precise synthetic operations because single atoms
and single functional groups often make the difference between benefit and
harm. The overarching goal of this research project is to develop a novel,
precise, and powerful method for the construction of carbon-carbon bonds.
In particular, our research focuses on using palladium metal as catalyst in
a multi-component coupling transformation. Palladium-catalyzed crosscoupling
reactions are some of the most powerful methods for the formation
of C-C bonds. Our current project will expand the scope of the current field
of palladium-catalyzed coupling reactions by allowing for the insertion of
single sp3 carbon units. We believe we can achieve a palladium-catalyzed
coupling involving N-tosylhydrazones (single carbon units) with easily
synthesized aryl halide substrates. We would like to investigate the reaction
conditions necessary for high yields of the desired products. We also plan on
conducting the reaction with varying substrates to determine the functional
group tolerance of the transformation.
Included in
Palladium Catalyzed Cascade Reaction with N-Tosylhydrazones
Virtually all of the top pharmaceuticals sold today require the use of organic
synthesis, the development of new strategies to construct complex molecules
from readily synthesized starting materials is essential to the field
of organic chemistry and drug design. In pharmaceutical design there is a
continuing trend toward precise synthetic operations because single atoms
and single functional groups often make the difference between benefit and
harm. The overarching goal of this research project is to develop a novel,
precise, and powerful method for the construction of carbon-carbon bonds.
In particular, our research focuses on using palladium metal as catalyst in
a multi-component coupling transformation. Palladium-catalyzed crosscoupling
reactions are some of the most powerful methods for the formation
of C-C bonds. Our current project will expand the scope of the current field
of palladium-catalyzed coupling reactions by allowing for the insertion of
single sp3 carbon units. We believe we can achieve a palladium-catalyzed
coupling involving N-tosylhydrazones (single carbon units) with easily
synthesized aryl halide substrates. We would like to investigate the reaction
conditions necessary for high yields of the desired products. We also plan on
conducting the reaction with varying substrates to determine the functional
group tolerance of the transformation.