NMR-aided development of new olefin metathesis catalysts for pharmaceutical applications

Detailed Description:

Homogeneous olefin metathesis (OM) is one of the most versatile catalytic reactions known. It allows the synthesis of both commodity and specialty chemicals, making it an essential reaction in medicine, biochemistry, and materials science. Albeit its many merits, OM applied to the synthesis of complex molecules has yet to find its way into the chemical industry. Large catalyst loadings together with catalyst decomposition products imply complex and expensive separation procedures, often at the expense of the reaction yield. This is particularly critical for the pharmaceutical industry, where purity requirements are very high. Finding strategies to facilitate removal and recovery of these catalysts is a current research topic, but there is still no solution that can fully answer all industrial needs. The current project intends to add to those efforts by developing new heterogeneous catalysts that retain many of the features of the homogeneous catalysts (operating at low temperatures, compatibility with functional groups, good activity) while easy to separate, recyclable and stable enough not to contaminate the final product. NMR spectroscopy will be a fundamental technique not only in the characterization of new molecules and materials (by liquid and solid-state NMR), but mostly in the characterization of the functionalized surface (by DNP). Particular attention will be given to both the active species and catalyst decomposition pathways that will allow system optimization, both in terms of activity and robustness that are crucial in industrial pharmaceutical applications.