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Elaboration
of an Enzymatically-Derived Fragment via Olefin Cross-Metathesis. Enantiomerically pure substances are extremely important in producing pharmaceuticals and other biologically important chemicals. To produce enantiomerically pure compounds is difficult because they have identical physical properties; this makes the separation of enantiomers nearly impossible. Our research, however, uses the enzyme Oxinitrilase to create an enantiomerically pure base molecule that can be easily manipulated into more useful compounds. As such, no difficult separations are necessary. We then couple this enzymatic chemistry with two synthetic catalysts—a ruthenium Grubbs and a palladium (0) catalyst. This methodology provides access to several synthetically and biologically important molecules, including Anisomycin, Prozac, and a family of glycosidase inhibitors. Support provided by: The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Scholars Award, NSF-Research Experience for Undergraduates in Chemistry Grant Fellowship, Sherman Fairchild Foundation Grant Fellowship, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Grant Fellowship Support provided by: Arnold and Mabel Beckman Scholars Award, NSF-Research Experience for Undergraduates in Chemistry Grant Fellowship, Sherman Fairchild Foundation Grant Fellowship, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Grant Fellowship Foundation |
