Project Summary/Abstract
A large majority of new synthetic, chiral pharmaceuticals are marketed as single enantiomers;
however, limitations in methods for single enantiomer organic synthesis hinder drug development,
particularly for nitrogen-containing small molecules. Ring opening of aziridines and azetidines by
nucleophiles are efficient processes for producing chiral, nitrogen-containing small molecules. Palladium
(II) catalysis has seen continued development in recent years for various bond constructions. What is not
known are palladium-catalyzed, enantioselective desymmetrization of aziridines and synthesis of
enantioenriched azetidines by carbon–carbon bond formation. The long-term goal is to discover novel
catalytic methods for biologically-active small molecule synthesis. The overall objective of the proposed
research, which is the next step toward attainment of the long-term goal, is to develop enantioselective,
palladium (II)-catalyzed carbon–carbon bond forming reactions. This is driven by a central hypothesis
that palladium complexes possess sufficient reactivity for the production of diverse nitrogen-containing
small molecules by enantioselective functionalization of strained heterocycles. The rationale that
underlies the proposed research is completion of this project will define new reactivity for palladium (II)
catalysts in novel enantioselective small molecule synthesis. Directed by strong preliminary data, the
research plan includes objectively testing the central hypothesis and, thereby, attaining the objective of
this application by pursuing the following two specific aims: 1) Develop catalytic, enantioselective
carbon–carbon bond constructions for the synthesis of chiral nitrogen synthons, and 2) Obtain access to
single enantiomer amine derivatives by azetidine synthesis and ring opening. Each aim will operate with
a working hypothesis that palladium (II) complexes possess novel reactivity for biologically-active
substrate synthesis by enantioselective aziridine ring opening with carbon nucleophiles and azetidine
synthesis by C–H functionalization, making this approach innovative. The expected outcomes of our
specific aims are as follows: first, developing new enantioselective reactions catalyzed by palladium (II)
complexes; second, synthesis of enantioenriched nitrogen heterocycles for testing by the NIMH
Psychoactive Drug Screening Program, Community for Open Antimicrobial Drug Discovery and NCI
Developmental Therapeutics Program; third, provide advanced, individual research opportunities for
undergraduate students with applications in the biomedical field. These outcomes will have a significant
positive impact as unique single enantiomer small molecules will become available for pharmaceutical
synthesis. New pathways will be opened to produce previously unknown pharmaceuticals for the
enhancement of human health.