Lecture held on: July 4

Presenter

Prof. Andy McNally – Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University

Pyridines and diazines are ubiquitous in pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals, yet there are limits in synthetic methods that can directly functionalize the C–H bonds in these structures. In this lecture, Prof. Andy McNally showed two distinct approaches, using phosphorus and ring-opened intermediates, that enable selective functionalization of these heterocycles into a range of valuable derivatives. A range of C–C and C–Heteroatom bond formations are viable, and the chemistry functions on structures typically encountered in drug discovery programs. Prof. McNally’s lab has also performed mechanistic and computational studies of the regioselectivity of these reactions and the phosphorus ligand-coupling processes involved.