Structure-Reactivity Relationships in Carbanion Chemistry

Cornell University, Ithaca NY

Investigators

Abstract

With this award, the Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry Program supports the work of Professor David B. Collum of Cornell University. This research will involve the study of the structure and reactivity of organolithium reagents in a variety of the solvents typically used for reactions of these species. The way in which these reagents aggregate in solution and how this affects their reactions will be examined. Some of these organolithium reagents are used in the tire industry to initiate polymerization to make synthetic rubber while others are used in the pharmaceutical industry to prepare medicinally important compounds. Broader Impacts. The work carried out has a direct impact on the pharmaceutical industry as evidenced by collaborations with sanofi-Aventis, Pfizer, Merck, Dupont Pharmaceuticals, and Schering-Plough. These efforts are affiliated with a number of drug syntheses including Sustiva (anti-Aids), Chantix (anti-smoking), and Otamixaban (for treatment of acute coronary events). These industrial collaborations will afford students and postdoctoral associates direct contact with the companies involved in these collaborations which will provide them with valuable knowledge when they begin their independent careers especially in the industrial sector. The PI will also continue to give short courses (over twenty to date) to pharmaceutical process chemists. The interactions with these companies will also impact K-12 education in the context of Cornell's "Expanding Your Horizons Program," an on-campus program to promote science to girls in middle school. A considerable percentage of the support for this program comes from, and will continue to come from, Prof. Collum's collaborators and contacts in industry.