Weak Bonds Leading the Quest for New Synthons in (Bio)organic Chemistry

The development of non-conventional organic synthons stands at the center of our research.1 We harness the power of modern catalysis to unravel the reactivity of energy-loaded molecules, in particular hypervalent iodine reagents2 and strained rings.3 This unique reactivity can then be exploited both for the synthesis of small molecule building blocks and the modification of peptides and proteins. To tackle the issue of selectivity, we also further developed the concept of in situ tethering.4 

In this presentation, focus will be on our most recent results in the field of activation of strained rings and hypervalent iodine reagents, going from applications on small organic molecules to complex biomolecules such as proteins.5 

References 

(1) https://www.epfl.ch/labs/lcso/research/ 

(2) D. P. Hari, P. Caramenti, J. Waser, Acc. Chem. Res. 2018, 51, 3212-3225. 

(3) F. de Nanteuil, F. De Simone, R. Frei, F. Benfatti, E. Serrano, J. Waser, Chem. Commun. 2014, 50, 10912-10928. 

(4) S. Nicolai, U. Orcel, B. Muriel, P. D. G. Greenwood, L. Buzzetti, M. Puriņš, J. Waser, Synlett 2021, 32, 472-487. 

(5) E. M. D. Allouche, E. Grinhagena, J. Waser, Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2022, 61, e202112287.