Andrei Kutateladze
University of Denver, CO·Chemistry
Light can supply the energy to turn simple molecules into complex ones in only a few steps. This project uses light-driven, or photoassisted, reactions to build heterocycles quickly.
- Fields
Chemistry
- Topics
organic synthesis
synthetic photochemistry
photoassisted synthesis
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Aug 2027
What they work on
- Develop photoassisted reaction cascades triggered by excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) that build complex, alkaloid-like heterocycles in few steps.
- Target triplet-state hydrogen atom transfer, a light-driven step that moves a hydrogen atom, to achieve large step-normalized increases in molecular complexity, then add further complexity through post-photochemical transformations.
- Investigate the mechanisms and stereochemistry of ESIPT-triggered cascades to explain how they control where bonds form and the 3D arrangement of products.
- Expand a machine-learning-augmented density functional theory (DFT) method for predicting NMR parameters so that it explicitly accounts for solvent effects, aiding structure elucidation of complex products.
More about the research
Heterocycles are ring-shaped molecules that contain nitrogen, sulfur or oxygen atoms. The targets are designed to resemble alkaloids, a class of natural products that may have therapeutic properties. The work also addresses a basic question in synthetic chemistry: how light interacts with matter.
Why it matters
Faster routes to complex, alkaloid-like heterocycles could give drug discovery access to new molecules with potential therapeutic properties. A more accurate, solvent-aware method for predicting NMR spectra could help chemists determine the structures of complex organic molecules in general, beyond this project.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Vladimir Gevorgyan
University of Texas at Dallas, TX·Chemistry
Develop a visible light–induced hybrid method that combines a transition-metal catalyst with radical steps to convert unactivated C(sp3)–H bonds, the single carbon–hydrogen bonds common in drugs, without acids or added oxidants.
Mark Lipke
Rutgers University-New Brunswick, NJ·Chemistry
Measure how water trapped inside redox-active porphyrin nanocages changes the acidity of acid-bearing guest molecules and their combined proton-electron transfer, using electrochemistry and 1H NMR to quantify water uptake.
Peng Liu
University of Pittsburgh, PA·Chemistry
Identify the rate- and selectivity-determining transition states of metal-catalyzed alkene functionalization reactions, using density functional theory and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations.
The school
University of Denver: 4 labs on PI Pages, $56M a year on research, 138 research doctorates a year.
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