PHOTOCHIRO · Photocatalysis to crop protection: asymmetric cascades for chiral heterocycles
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2018-03-01 → 2020-02-29
- EU contribution
- €170,122
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF-EF-ST
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Photocatalysis to crop protection: asymmetric cascades for chiral heterocycles
What is the problem/issue being addressed? As the continually rising levels of global consumption challenge the Earth’s capacity for production, chemistry will play a key role in the discovery of new technologies to support our future. Fundamental chemical research in agrichemistry is essential to develop a robust approach to crop protection and plant growth. One current challenge when developing novel molecular candidates, for both agrichemical and pharmaceutical industries, is efficient access to unpatented chemical space around biologically privileged scaffolds. Achieving this necessitates moving away from the “flat” heteroaromatic structures often associated with active ingredients. However, access to these chiral molecules bearing saturated heterocyclic scaffolds, with well-defined three-dimensional architecture, is a great challenge. Why is it important for society? The methodology developed during the project will impact crop protection R&D by providing access to novel chiral building blocks. This project has brought new career possibilities by providing the fellow with expertise in asymmetric catalysis and photochemistry. The project offered opportunities in the academic and private sector due to the network of contacts and skills set that the involved researcher obtained throughout the project. PHOTOCHIRO has a particularly strong link to Knowledge and Technology Transfer (KTT), crucial for increasing the competitiveness of the European Economic Area (EEA). What are the overall objectives? The main goal of PHOTOCHIRO is to synthesize biologically relevant chiral scaffolds by means of cascade processes that combine enantioselective organocatalysis and photochemistry, two powerful strategies of modern chemical research with extraordinary potential for sustainably preparing organic molecules. Specifically, the primary aims of the PHOTOCHIRO project have been: 1. Develop enantioselective aminocatalytic cascade processes to rapidly synthesise chiral saturated heterocycles with high enantiopurity. The cascades have been designed by combing the ground-state and excited-state reactivity of chiral aminocatalytic intermediates. 2. Conduct biological screening of the resulting chemical library, to demonstrate the applicability of the methodology to industrial R&D.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Food security and sustainable agriculture is a significant and current challenge to society in the face of growing global consumption. PHOTOCHIRO seeks to provide some solutions through assisting the development of more effective crop protection technology. Specifically, we aim at the synthesis of novel chiral amines, which are common motifs in biologically active molecules, by using light-driven organocatalytic cascade processes. Asymmetric organocatalysis and photochemistry, two powerful strategies of modern chemical research, have extraordinary potential for sustainably preparing the novel organic molecules required for driving innovation in the pharmaceutical and agrichemical industries. However, the control of enantioselectivity in photochemical processes poses a fundamental scientific challenge, and PHOTOCHIRO asks whether asymmetric organocatalytic photochemical cascades can be used as an effective tool for the rapid synthesis of novel chiral pyrrolidine and piperidine building blocks. The chiral molecules prepared in this project will be screened for herbicide, insecticide, and fungicide activity in a multidisciplinary collaboration with Syngenta. This fellowship brings a new collaboration to the host institution, transfers knowledge of advanced techniques in asymmetric catalysis and photochemistry to the candidate, and, in addition, knowledge of these new enantioselective photocatalytic synthetic techniques to the industrial partner. The results have the potential to increase the economic competitiveness of Europe through Knowledge and Technology Transfer and are in line with one of H2020 Societal Challenges to secure ""viable food production in face of a growing world food demand"". The multi-cultural and intersectoral nature of this project will broaden Dr Holden’s competencies and places her in a competitive position for her next career move.""
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- FUNDACIO INSTITUT CATALA D'INVESTIGACIO QUIMICA · TARRAGONACoordinatorSpain
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union