Dr. Michael Muratore, Postdoctoral Researcher in Prof. Echavarren group, has received the Best Oral Communication Prize at the 19th European Symposium on Organic Chemistry (Lisbon, 12th-16th July) for his communication entitled ‘The Versatility of Gold(I) Catalysis Applied to the Total Syntheses of (-)-Nardoaristolone B and Lundurine C’.

The communication describes how taking advantage of the versatility and efficiency of gold catalysis the first enantioselective total syntheses of nardoaristolone B and lundurine C have been developed. The synthesis of the former relied on the first example of a gold-catalyzed oxidative bicyclization of a 1,5-enyne employed in the context of total synthesis. The latter featured a gold-catalyzed endo-selective intramolecular hydroarylation of an alkyne by indole to gain rapid access to the polycyclic skeleton of lundurine C.