Research Projects

The study aims to synthesize substituted aziridines, azetidines, and cyclopropanes for Lewis acid-catalyzed SN2 type ring-opening reactions using various nucleophiles to produce non-racemic products. The researchers have previously synthesized N-containing acyclic and cyclic compounds from enantiopure starting materials in the presence of Lewis acid and quaternary ammonium salt. However, due to limitations in synthesis and control of racemization, they plan to explore stereoselective synthesis of enantioenriched compounds from racemic starting materials via KR/DKR/DKE. The concept of "dynamic kinetic resolution" (DKR) will be explored for ring-opening transformations of racemic substrates, leading to the formation of enantiopure products in the presence of chiral Lewis-acids and/or quaternary ammonium salts. Under optimal conditions, KR/DKR/DKE of aziridines and azetidines with appropriate nucleophiles will provide numerous non-racemic targets of interest.