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New Frontiers in Asymmetric Catalysis

Koichi Mikami, Mark Lautens

Hardcover, 418 Pages
1st Edition, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-471-68026-0
Wiley

Description

A compilation of recent advances and applications in asymmetric catalysis

The field of asymmetric catalysis has grown rapidly and plays a key role in drug discovery and pharmaceuticals. New Frontiers in Asymmetric Catalysis gives readers a fundamental understanding of the concepts and applications of asymmetric catalysis reactions and discusses the latest developments and findings. With contributions from preeminent scientists in their respective fields, it covers:

* "Rational" ligand design, which is critically dependent on the reaction type (reduction, oxidation, and C-C bond formation)
* Recent findings on activation of C-H bonds, C-C bonds, and small molecules (C=O, HCN, RN=C, and CO2) and the latest developments on C-C bond reorganization, such as metathesis
* Advances in "chirally economical" non-linear phenomena, racemic catalysis, and autocatalysis
* Some of the recent discoveries that have led to a renaissance in the field of organocatalysis, including the development of chiral Brönstead acids and Lewis acidic metals bearing the conjugate base of the Brönstead acids as the ligands and the chiral bi-functional acid/base catalysts

The book ends with a thought-provoking perspective on the future of asymmetric catalysis that addresses both the challenges and the unlimited potential in this burgeoning field. This is an authoritative, up-to-date reference for organic chemists in academia, government, and industries, including pharmaceuticals, biotech, fine chemicals, polymers, and agriculture. It is also an excellent textbook for graduate students studying advanced organic chemistry or chemical synthesis.

Editorial Review

The field of asymmetric catalysis is fascinating, where from time to time new catalysts offer a significant breakthrough to higher selectivity. Knowledge of the most interesting and up-to-date options for the most important chemical transformations immensely facilitates laboratory work. One can either mount a systematic search for these reactions, or consult “New Frontiers in Asymmetric Catalysis" by Koichi Mikami and Mark Lautens. These two editors have succeeded admirably in inviting interesting authors to assemble a handy overview of the most important reactions and a number of concepts.

The authors of the individual chapters have covered their respective areas in detail; a number of well illustrated mechanisms and transition states and many reaction examples make this volume useful for both advanced students and researchers in the lab. It is noteworthy that most of the authors offer both good illustrations and a multitude of examples. The present monograph has achieved the goal of covering truly interesting reactions and catalysts.

The chapter on "Recent Progress in the Metathesis Reaction" even describes several non-enantioselective transformations, which goes to show that the number of useful, enantioselective reactions is still quite manageable. The chapter on nonlinear effects (Kagan) and chirality amplification (Soai) are admittedly of a more theoretical nature, but they do point to interesting developments for the future. In the chapter by Soai, this reviewer would certainly still liked to have seen a precise explanation of the underlying mechanism that was actually invoked for the amplification in the model reaction.

In any case, "New Frontiers in Asymmetric Catalysis" is recommended for all organic chemists in research and development who want to become acquainted with these interesting ideas and concepts. Since it contains a number of important reactions with good catalysts, the book will provide the reader with ready access to the primary literature.

Contents

Introductory Preface (K. Mikami and M. Lautens).
Chapter 1. Ligand Design for Catalytic Asymmetric Reduction (T. Ohkuma, M. Kitamura, and R. Noyori).
Chapter 2. Ligand Design for Oxidation (T. Yamada)
Chapter 3. Ligand Design for C-C Bond Formation (R. Shintani and T. Hayashi).
Chapter 4. Activation of small molecules (C=O, HCN, RN=C, and CO2) (K. Nozaki).
Chapter 5. Asymmetric Synthesis Based on the Catalytic Activation of C-H and C-C Bonds (C.-J. Li).
Chapter 6. Recent Progress in the Metathesis Reaction (M. Mori).
Chapter 7. Nonlinear Effects in Asymmetric Catalysis
Chapter 8. Activation and De-activation (K. Mikami and K. Aikawa).
Chapter 9. Auto-Catalysis (K. Soai).
Chapter 10. Recent Advances in Catalytic Asymmetric Desymmetrization Reactions (T. Rovis).
Chapter 11. History & Perspective of Chiral Organic Catalysts (G. Lelais and D.W.C.Macmillan).
Chapter 12. Chiral Acid Catalysts (K. Ishihara and H. Yamamoto).
Chapter 13. Recent Advances in Chiral Base Catalysts (M. Shibasaki and Motomu Kanai).
Future perspective (K. Mikami and M. Lautens).