Development of new thiourea organocatalysts for asymmetric reactions

Abstract

"Nowadays it is almost impossible to find a synthesis of a natural product or drug candidate that does not use a catalyst. Typically, catalysts used in organic synthesis are metal compounds; however the use of other catalytic methods has been increasing, namely organocatalysis. This type of catalysis describes the acceleration of chemical reactions through the addition of a substoichiometric quantity of an organic compound that does not contain a metal atom. A growing number of publications has appeared in this area, describing not only the application of known organocatalysts for new reactions but also the development of new organocatalysts. The potential of this research area was recognised in 2021, when the Nobel prize Chemistry was awarded to Benjamin List and David MacMillan for their efforts on the development of asymmetric organocatalysis, a new precise tool for molecular construction. (...)"