Lecture: Discovery/Reaction Development at the Enzymatic/Synthetic Chemistry Interface   

Lecturer: Prof. David B. Berkowitz, University of Nebraska Lincoln 

Time: 9:30am, Dec 22, 2016 

Location: Meeting Room 216 of Energy Building 

Abstract: 

This talk will trace the evolution of a technique that has been dubbed In Situ Enzymatic Screening (ISES) wherein enzymes act as analytical tools/realtime sensors to assist synthetic chemists in the discovery of new catalytic reaction manifolds of interest and in the identification of useful chiral ligand families. For reactions for which this screening strategy is well suited, one obtains real time information on relative rates and/or enantioselectivity for an array of catalysts being screened in parallel, without the need to draw aliquots or quench the reactions. The nature of the signal readout and information content, as well as colorimetric and miniaturized versions of such bio-analytical screens will be discussed. 

 The application of ISES to the discovery of (i) the first examples of asymmetric allylic amination mediated by Ni(0)-catalysts; the identification of new (ii) bromorhodiation-carbocyclization and (iii) thiocyanopalladationcarbocyclization transformations, as well as (iv) the identification of useful new chiral salen ligands will be presented. Then, the tables will be turned; reporting enzymes will shed their analytical chemistry role and take on asymmetric catalytic roles in promising hybrid chemo/biocatalytic synthetic schemes. 

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