Research

Background

The carbon-hydrogen (C−H) bond is present in almost all organic molecules. Some of these bonds are highlighted below in Paracetamol (painkiller) and Remdesivir (Covid-19 drug). Transforming a C−H bond to a carbon-carbon (C−C) or carbon-heteroatom (C−X) bond is a great way to increase the structural diversity of molecules with little effort.

The Challenge

As shown in the two drug structures above, C−H bonds are very common within molecules. So, how can we choose and modify a single C−H bond over others close by? Enter metal-catalysed C−H reactions! These processes typically use directing groups to selectively transform only one C−H bond (see diagram below).

However, many existing directing groups have limitations such as that they cannot easily be removed or modified once attached to a molecule. This essentially leads to a roadblock in the molecule’s structural development.

My Research

I am designing a novel directing group that overcomes the above limitations. This will lead to the C−DG bond being functionalised to a more useful C−C or C−X bond in addition to the desired C−H bond being transformed.

Impact

The direct installation of new C−C or C−X bonds can enable access to uncharted chemical space. This has applications in the pharmaceutical sector as it can play a key role in discovering new bioactive compounds for drug development.