New Methods for Therapeutic Development

Project Summary The overarching goal of this proposal is the development of new reactions, and the reagents that control them, to generate enantioenriched organic compounds. These products are valuable precursors to more elaborate small molecules that are medicinal agents and/or more complex biologically active natural products. The proposed methods target the concise synthesis of secondary amines, tertiary amines, and vicinal diamines as single stereoisomers. These methods are based on the development of bis(amidine) reagents that form chiral proton complexes (a polar ionic hydrogen bond) when a strong acid is added, or when used with acidic substrates. Exploration of a new catalyst design is also described, asking whether reactivity and enantioselectivity can be managed using achiral species involved in the reaction. These studies continue the successful application of bifunctional organocatalysts to the stereocontrolled creation of structural and functional motifs that, while common, are otherwise difficult to prepare using conventional alternatives. A hypothesis-driven approach is outlined to explore an entirely new mode of activation that involves achiral Brønsted acid activators. A range of innovative multicomponent coupling reactions will be developed using chiral proton catalysis as the means to control enantioselection. These studies have the potential to impact small molecule synthesis, and ultimately the development of therapeutic agents. Moreover, the methods enable the metal-free production of functionally dense, single enantiomer (and diastereomer) organic compounds.