Earth-abundant iron catalysis enables access to valuable dialkylated compounds

March 07, 2024

National University of Singapore (NUS) chemists have solved a longstanding challenge in the synthesis of congested C(sp³)-rich molecules by developing a new iron-catalyzed reaction that generates two alkyl-alkyl bonds in crowded environments. 

Research has shown that the number of saturated (sp³) carbons correlates with solubility, suggesting that increased saturation leads to enhanced potency and selectivity in drugs. However, developing methods to construct C(sp³)-rich scaffolds is an important but challenging goal in organic synthesis. This is because reactions involving sp³-hybridized substrates are typically inefficient and prone to undesired product formation.

The research team is leveraging the newly discovered iron-catalyzed system to transform other classes of organic starting materials into useful compounds for various applications, including drug development.

From:Phys.org