Kinetic resolution chemistry

Summary

The ability to prepare novel heterocyclic compounds efficiently is critical to the success of the pharmaceutical, agrochemical, and fine chemical industries.

With the growing healthcare burden and the increasing market for single mirror image drugs, it is essential that new ways to access such compounds are found that meet this need. Current methods to prepare even fairly simple multi-substituted, saturated nitrogen-containing ring systems that are of medicinal relevance are often long-winded and complex, particularly for quaternary substituted compounds where more than one substituent is located on the same carbon atom.

This project will use simple chemistry with readily available reagents and a diverse selection of easily accessed starting materials to prepare novel substituted heterocycles, including quaternary substituted compounds. The chemistry uses a simple deprotonation, yet this provides a powerful way to provide a range of different products. In addition it allows the ability to control the absolute configuration to prepare heterocycles that are enriched as a single mirror image. The project will be carried out in collaboration with industry to help steer the choice of targets.

The aim will be to generate compounds of pharmaceutical interest that will be made available as scaffolds for drug synthesis. In addition, we aim to uncover principles of mechanism and molecular interaction through collaboration by carrying out calculations and spectroscopy.

The research is aligned with the EPSRC Dial-a-Molecule grand challenge and with the priority areas of novel and efficient chemical synthesis, sustainable chemistry, and potentially new physical sciences for biology and healthcare. It also fits with the EPSRC strategy to champion excellence in research, training, and impact as described in the Strategic Plan. This project has particular application to the UK fine chemical industry and hence the pharmaceutical industry and will enhance the EPSRC world-leading investment in partnership with industry.