MORECAT

Project description

The main aim of the present project is the design and preparation of novel, efficient and reliable catalytic asymmetric tools for transformations of interest, which can be applied to the stereoselective synthesis of compounds with biological, pharmaceutical or agrochemical relevance.

A modular design of the catalysts, the versatility of the synthetic strategies, the incorporation of a regulation site for the geometry of the active site, and the computational analysis of the catalytic event are key factors in our strategy. These features have allowed us to develop highly efficient catalytic systems for transition-metal mediated pivotal synthetic transformations.

Two main objectives will be pursued within this proposal: In the first instance, this project is aimed at developing new synthetic catalytic methods for enantioselective transformations that currently still lack a satisfactory solution (i.e. desymmetrization of meso compounds and kinetic resolutions of racemic mixtures by asymmetric hydrogenation, asymmetric cycloadditions, etc.). Secondly, the developed asymmetric catalytic tools will be applied to the stereoselective synthesis of compounds (or advanced synthetic intermediates of these products) with biological interest. From the methodological point of view, it should be mentioned that the design, preparation and optimization of the asymmetric catalytic systems will be based on two different strategies: i) Structural ligand variation, and ii) Distal regulation of the geometry of the active site via supramolecular interactions.