Jennifer M. Schomaker, of the University of Wisconsin, will deliver a seminar entitled, "Versatile Allene Oxidation Methods for the Syntheses of Complex Amines." Hosted by James W. Canary.
Abstract: Complex amine motifs occur frequently in diverse natural products and biologically active molecules, but can be difficult to access using conventional alkene oxidation chemistries. This talk will describe our efforts to develop highly regio-, chemo- and stereoselective allene amination strategies that rapidly convert these simple precursors into densely functionalized, stereochemically rich amine-containing scaffolds. Our ability to achieve heteroatom, stereochemical and structural diversity in an array of allene transformations will be highlighted as a powerful tool to address questions concerning the effect of systematic modifications to the positioning, stereochemistry and pKa of amines on the efficacy and toxicity of bioactive molecules.