Polyvalent iodine in organic chemistry

Tricoordinate, I(III), and pentacoordinate, I(V), polyvalent iodine compounds have been known for over a century. In the last twenty years, new polyvalent iodine reagents have been introduced along with synthetic methodologies, based on these and derived reagents, that play an ever increasing role in contemporary organic chemistry. In this Perspective, an overview of these developments is provided with emphasis on the chemistry and uses of aryl-, alkenyl-, and alkynyliodonium salts in preparative and synthetic organic chemistry. It is hoped that this brief overview, along with recent more comprehensive reviews of the field, will stimulate further developments and applications of this useful class of compounds across a broad spectrum of organic chemistry.     

Application of physical organic methods to the investigation of organometallic reaction mechanisms

For the past 75 years, physical organic chemistry has been the foundation for the elucidation of mechanisms, and the understanding of structure/activity relationships, in organic chemistry. The rational design of experiments and the critical analysis of data have been the hallmarks of this field. In this Perspective, we revisit some of the studies carried out during the past 30 years in which our group has used the tools of physical organic chemistry to investigate the mechanisms of a variety of organometallic reactions. The Perspective covers a broad spectrum of metal-mediated reactions including organic reductions, alkene, carbon monoxide and nitric oxide migratory insertion reactions, C-H bond activation, and the reactions of metal-heteroatom bonds with organic molecules. These studies, along with similar ones carried out in other groups, have demonstrated that the principles and methods of physical organic chemistry have adapted well to the study of organometallic reaction mechanisms. The understanding obtained in this way has aided the development of useful metal-mediated reactions in a wide range of areas, especially in industrial catalysis and in applications to problems in organic synthesis.     

Properties and applications of precision oligomer materials; where organic and polymer chemistry join forces

Precise oligomeric materials constitute a growing area of research with implications for various applications as well as fundamental studies. Notably, this field of science which can be termed macro-organic chemistry, draws inspiration from both traditional polymer chemistry and organic synthesis, combining the molecular precision of organic chemistry with the materials properties of macromolecules. Discrete oligomers enable access to unprecedented materials properties, for example, in self-assembled structures, crystallization, or optical properties. The degree of control over oligomer structures resembles many biological systems and enables the design of materials with tailored properties and the development of fundamental structure–property relationships. This Review highlights recent developments in macro-organic chemistry from synthetic concepts to materials properties, with a focus on self-assembly and molecular recognition. Finally, an outlook for future research directions is provided.     

Structural formulas and explanation in organic chemistry

Organic chemists have been able to develop a robust, theoretical understanding of the phenomena they study; however, the primary theoretical devices employed in this field are not mathematical equations or laws, as is the case in most other physical sciences. Instead it is diagrams, and in particular structural formulas and potential energy diagrams, that carry the explanatory weight in the discipline. To understand how this is so, it is necessary to investigate both the nature of the diagrams employed in organic chemistry and how these diagrams are used in the explanations of the discipline. I will begin this paper by characterizing some of the major ways that structural formulas used in organic chemistry. Next I will present a model of the explanations in organic chemistry and describe how both structural formulas and potential energy diagrams contribute to these explanations. This will be followed by several examples that support my abstract account of the role of diagrams in the explanations of organic chemistry. In particular, I will consider both the appeal to ‘hyperconjugation’ in the explanation of alkene stability and how the idea of ‘ring strain’ was developed to explain the relative stability of cyclic compounds.

Looking for treasure in stereochemistry-land. A path marked by curiosity, obstinacy, and serendipity

Over the past 40 years, much of my research has evolved around various topics of conformational analysis and asymmetric synthesis. This Perspective describes some of my salient contributions in eight different areas of organic stereochemistry: (1) conformational analysis of six-membered rings, (2) evaluation of stereoelectronic interactions in (1)J(C-H) one-bond coupling constants in six-membered rings, (3) eclipsed conformation in cis-2-tert-butyl-5-(tert-butylsulfonyl)-1,3-dioxane, (4) determination of enthalpic and entropic contributions to ΔG°(CH(2)Ph) and ΔG°(t-Bu), (5) study of the "attractive gauche effect" in O-C-C-O segments, (6) examination of salt effects on conformational equilibria, (7) asymmetric synthesis of β-amino acids, and (8) asymmetric organocatalysis and "Green" chemistry. It will be appreciated that a basic understanding of the principles of physical organic chemistry has been essential in all projects. Furthermore, curiosity, enthusiasm, obstinacy, and paying attention to unexpected observations will lead to many new (stereo)chemical discoveries.     

Personal reflections on receiving the Roger Adams Award in organic chemistry

The author reflects on his early experiences as a chemist, and on the subsequent shift in emphasis that his research has undergone from mechanistic and synthetic organic chemistry to natural products chemistry. Finally, the extension of the field of natural products chemistry into the emerging discipline of chemical ecology is noted. This essay concludes with a consideration of the importance of including science in the curricula of all college and university students.     

有机微波化学研究进展

本文综述了近几年来微波技术在有机合成方面的研究和应用进展。初步探讨了微波催化有机反应的作用机理, 并展望了有机微波化学的发展前景。     

The role of mass spectrometry in organic chemistry

It is well known that mass spectrometry (MS) is a very versatile physical method which is applied to many branches of chemistry. Two main lines of development can be discerned: (i) organic chemical analysis. (ii) gas phase chemistry of organic ions. Both will be surveyed and discussed and will be followed by some speculations on future developments.     

充满生机和科学机遇的磷化学研究所

简要地综述了第十五届国际磷化学会议的报告内容，介绍了目前磷化学的主要 研究领域，包括不对称合成、配合化学，生物碱化学，药物化学，农业化学等相关 领域的研究动态及新进展。     

Capturing the essence of organic synthesis: from bioactive natural products to designed molecules in today's medicine

In this Perspective, I outline my group's research involving the chemical syntheses of medicinally important natural products, exploration of their bioactivity, and the development of new asymmetric carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions. This paper also highlights our approach to molecular design and synthesis of conceptually novel inhibitors against target proteins involved in the pathogenesis of human diseases, including AIDS and Alzheimer's disease.     

Another scientific practice separating chemistry from physics: thought experiments

Thought experiments in the history of science display a striking asymmetry between chemistry and physics, namely that chemistry seems to lack well-known examples, whereas physics presents many famous examples. This asymmetry, I argue, is not independent data concerning the chemistry/physics distinction. The laws of chemistry such as the periodic table are incurably special, in that they make testable predictions only for a very restricted range of physical conditions in the universe which are necessarily conditioned by the contingences of chemical investigation. The argument depends on how ‚thought experiment’ is construed. Here, several recent accounts of thought experiments are surveyed to help formulate what I call ‚crucial’ thought experiments. These have a historical role in helping to judge between hypotheses in physics, but are not helpful in chemistry past or present.     

Approaches to high throughput physical organic chemistry

High throughput (HT) techniques are now extensively used for the synthesis of libraries of several thousands of compounds. More recently, HT methods began to be applied to other areas, such as physical organic chemistry. This has allowed for instance the development of tools for HT reaction assessment, HT kinetic and thermodynamic measurements, and physicochemical property profiling, using a broad set of analytical tools, ranging from mass spectrometry to image analysis based techniques. This article provides an overview of recent HT physical organic chemistry techniques. Special attention is given to the application of quantitative analytical constructs for HT monomer reactivity profiling and HT evaluation of Hammett parameters.     

Some aspects of organosilicon and ferrocene chemistry

This review deals with three topics selected from my researches carried out over a period of nearly 40 years up to my retirement in 1983, namely (1) methylpolysilane chemistry, (2) some chemical properties of ferrocene-substituted silicon compounds and (3) some organic syntheses catalyzed by ferrocenylphosphine-transition metal complexes.     

Learning from the past: a personal view on the perspectives of quantum computational chemistry

A short exposition of activities in theoretical chemistry performed in Pisa in the past years is given here. The exposition is based on summaries of critical evaluations I did in the years. These summaries intend to show the influence Salvetti has had on my scientific formation and also testimony on the evolution of quantum and computational chemistry in Pisa and in parallel in the whole discipline. This series of evaluations have always interested Salvetti (perhaps with some influence on his activity as national coordinator of CNR research in Chemistry) and can be used now to define new research fields.     

Bioorthogonal organic chemistry in living cells: novel strategies for labeling biomolecules

The chemical labeling of biomolecules continues to be an important tool for the study of their function and cellular fate. Attention is increasingly focused on labeling of biomolecules in living cells, since cell lysis introduces many artefacts. In addition, with the advances in biocompatible synthetic organic chemistry, a whole new field of opportunity has opened up, affording high diversity in the nature of the label as well as a choice of ligation reactions. In recent years, several different two-step labeling strategies have emerged. These rely on the introduction of a bioorthogonal attachment site into a biomolecule, then ligation of a reporter molecule to this site using bioorthogonal organic chemistry. This Perspective focuses on these techniques, their implications and future directions.     

专辑主编寄语

喜逢中国科学院长春应用化学研究所建所70周年华诞之际,真诚感谢安立佳院士作为客座编辑邀请国内化学相关领域著名院士和专家出版这一期纪念刊专辑。《应用化学》创刊于1983年,为中国科学院长春应用化学研究所的发展和国内相关化学领域提供了一个学术交流的平台,始终秉持“应用化学,追求卓越”的办刊理念,面向科研单位、大专院校和化学化工领域的科研及技术人员,着重报道化学及交叉学科有应用前景的创新性基础科学研究和创造性科研技术成果,介绍该领域中的新发现、新理论、新方法、新技术、新产品及相关科技信息,为推动应用化学学科的发展、加强国内国际间的学术交流、人才培养和现代化建设服务。该专辑的出版必将对该领域的发展起到重要的促进作用。     

Subject matter, role, and place of organic functional analysis in analytical chemistry

The place and role of organic functional analysis in analytical chemistry are considered. It is demonstrated that various areas of application of functional analysis are not joined into a single system as an important branch of analytical chemistry. A current analysis of the subject matter, role, and place of functional analysis in analytical chemistry allows one to recognize four main branches, which most adequately reflect the completeness and nature of this constituent of organic analysis.     

Nanoparticles,Proteins, and Nucleic Acids: Biotechnology Meets Materials Science

Based on fundamental chemistry, biotechnology and materials science have developed over the past three decades into today's powerful disciplines which allow the engineering of advanced technical devices and the industrial production of active substances for pharmaceutical and biomedical applications. This review is focused on current approaches emerging at the intersection of materials research, nanosciences, and molecular biotechnology. This novel and highly interdisciplinary field of chemistry is closely associated with both the physical and chemical properties of organic and inorganic nanoparticles, as well as to the various aspects of molecular cloning, recombinant DNA and protein technology, and immunology. Evolutionary optimized biomolecules such as nucleic acids, proteins, and supramolecular complexes of these components, are utilized in the production of nanostructured and mesoscopic architectures from organic and inorganic materials. The highly developed instruments and techniques of today's materials research are used for basic and applied studies of fundamental biological processes.     

The structural theory and physical organic chemistry

Woolley's revolutionary proposal that quantum mechanics does not sanction the concept of “molecular structure”—which is but only a “metaphor”—has fundamental implications for physical organic chemistry. On the one hand, the Uncertainty Principle limits the precision with which transition state structures may be defined; on the other, extension of the structure concept to the transition state may be unviable. Attempts to define transition states have indeed caused controversy. Consequences for molecular recognition, and a mechanistic classification, are also discussed.     

The organic chemistry of silver acetylides

Silver acetylides are among the oldest organometallics known; however, their applications in organic chemistry remained scarce until very recently. Indeed, several reactions involving silver salts as catalyst or silver acetylides have been reported in the past five years. The extreme mildness and very low basicity of these nucleophilic reagents nicely complement the behavior of other alkynyl metals, rendering them very useful in various transformations, especially in the synthesis of complex molecules. Silver acetylides are now seen as promising tools in organic chemistry. This critical review focuses on this emerging field, and, with emphasis on mechanistic aspects, cover the synthesis of silver acetylides, their applications in organic chemistry and reactions involving silver salts as catalysts where silver acetylides are probable intermediates.