RESEARCH

We are a synthetic organic chemistry group focusing on transition metal catalyzed methodology development and application of these methodologies to the synthesis of natural products. Particularly we are interested in developing strategies for the asymmetric dearomatization of the heteroarenes to synthesize substituted non-aromatic azaheterocycles such as piperidines, piperazines and related heterocycles. These azaheterocycles are common in active pharmaceutical ingredients, agrochemicals and alkaloid natural products. Examples of such molecules are shown on the left. The dearomative approach is an attractive approach to the synthesis of such heterocycles because heteroarenes are widely available and initial dearomatization products could be diastereoselectively modified to access highly substituted piperidines and piperazines in a stereoselective manner.

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