1. Developing Environmentally Friendly Reactions for Organic Synthesis
Thomas G. Minehan, Department of Chemistry, California State University
Northridge, CA 91330
Reactions in water: we have discovered that combination of substituted iodoalkenes with
dicarbonyl compounds in water in the presence of benign indium metal leads to the formation of
seven and eight-membered carbocyclic structures, which are present in numerous medicinally important compounds. Performing the reaction by sequential addition of monocarbonyl compounds instead leads substituted tetrahydropyrans, which were employed
in the synthesis of a natural product, centrolobine.
We aim to demonstrate that eco-friendly reactions which both reduce waste and the use
of harmful reagents are efficient means of constructing complex organic molecules.