Metal catalysed reactions in organic synthesis

The major aim of this project is to develop highly efficient metal-catalysed routes to pharmaceuticals, e.g. new antibiotics and other commercially important organic molecules. Particular attention will be paid to developing systems which facilitate the addition of readily available, cheap small molecules, e.g. hydrogen and carbon monoxide, to unsaturated organic molecules with high regio- and stereoselectivity. Worldwide demand for enantiomerically pure chiral molecules (i.e. one mirror-image form) continues to rise. New metal-catalysed asymmetric syntheses will help meet this challenge. Tandem metal-catalysed reactions will be used to prepare new heterocyclic compounds with potential as specific metal binding agents and biosensors.