{"id":494352,"date":"2021-10-22T13:56:24","date_gmt":"2021-10-22T17:56:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=494352"},"modified":"2024-01-04T09:56:23","modified_gmt":"2024-01-04T14:56:23","slug":"big-leap-forward-in-using-iron-catalysts-for-pharmaceuticals-494352","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/big-leap-forward-in-using-iron-catalysts-for-pharmaceuticals-494352\/","title":{"rendered":"A big leap forward in using iron catalysts for pharmaceuticals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Researchers at Rochester and Maryland describe a novel cross-coupling reaction.<\/h2>\n

If there were a classroom full of all the transition metals that could be used as catalysts for complex pharmaceutical reactions, iron would be the most promising but most unruly member.<\/p>\n

However, researchers at the University of Rochester<\/a> and the University of Maryland have created and characterized a new kind of reaction that could potentially bring iron to the front of the class, enabling faster, less expensive synthesis of previously difficult to make, drug-like compounds in a single step. They report their findings in the journal <\/a>Science<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"man
Michael Neidig (University of Rochester photo \/ J. Adam Fenster)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThis is a tremendous leap forward in developing effective and practical iron-based reactions that the pharmaceutical industry could utilize,\u201d says Michael Neidig<\/a>, the Marshall D. Gates, Jr. Professor of Chemistry at Rochester, whose research group collaborated with that of associate professor of chemistry Osvaldo Gutierrez<\/a> at Maryland, before Gutierrez moved to Texas A&M in August 2021.<\/p>\n

Iron: a better catalyst than palladium for chemical synthesis<\/b><\/h3>\n

So-called transition-metal catalyzed cross-coupling reactions are among the most widely used methods for chemical synthesis. The transition metal catalyst often used by industry and academic labs for these reactions is palladium. Palladium works well, but it\u2019s rare, expensive, and toxic\u2014which is why the Neidig and Gutierrez labs have been working to generate iron alternatives.<\/p>\n

Iron\u2014though abundant, cheap, and relatively nontoxic\u2014has been underdeveloped in part because when it is bound to carbon in these reactions, the resulting organoiron compound can be very unstable and challenging to control.<\/p>\n

While most cross couplings used in these reactions involve putting two molecules together, lead author Lei Liu, of Gutierrez\u2019s group, managed to create three-component couplings, increasing the reaction\u2019s potential for bonding with multiple compounds. Co-lead author Maria Camila Aguilera, a PhD student in Neidig\u2019s group, then painstakingly analyzed exactly how the reaction works.<\/p>\n

Part of Aguilera\u2019s work involved recreating the exact crystal structure of each of the four \u201cspecies\u201d of iron used in the reaction\u2014in effect, creating a photo of each. She then characterized each of the species to determine which started the reaction, and the roles played by the other three at different stages of the reaction.<\/p>\n

\"Student
PhD student Maria Camila Aguilera is co-lead author of a paper describing a novel iron-based cross-coupling reaction. Professor Michael Neidig says Aguilera\u2019s analysis \u201csets the framework to continue the development of iron-based reactions in a rational, mechanistically driven way.\u201d (University of Rochester photo \/ J. Adam Fenster)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt was a very challenging project,\u201d says the fourth-year PhD student who came to Rochester after completing a BS in chemistry at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. \u201c<\/strong>But I was very excited about it because it allowed me to really dig into a very different type of chemistry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neidig says that Aguilera used an array of spectroscopy tools and a unique cryogenic infrastructure that allowed lab to \u201cstudy unstable organoiron compounds that very few chemistry labs in the world can.\u201d Her analysis \u201csets the framework to continue the development of iron-based reactions in a rational, mechanistically driven way,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

A promising advance in drug development<\/strong><\/h3>\n

What are the prospects for implementation in drug development?<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a reaction that will be attractive to pharmaceutical companies,\u201d Neidig says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reaction might require more tweaking and development,\u201d he adds. But when it comes to that task, \u201cthe fundamental mechanistic framework we established will be so important in helping people think about how to make this system better and more efficient.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both Aguilera and Neidig praised the close working relationship that developed with Gutierrez\u2019s lab, especially given the scarcity of labs willing to work with iron catalyzed cross-coupling reactions because of the high risks and low rewards.<\/p>\n

\u201cOsvaldo is an incredible collaborator,\u201d Aguilera says.\u00a0\u201cHe is very willing to share his knowledge, and so it was a pleasure to work with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

The project is supported with funding from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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