Some Contributions to Three Relevant Areas in Organic Stereochemistry during the Last Decade: (1) Conformational Effects, (2) Asymmetric Organocatalysis, and (3) Mechanoenzymatic Processes.

Abstract

The present Tetrahedron Report highlights salient contributions accomplished by the author’s research group during the past decade in three relevant areas of organic chemistry: (1) reexamination and interpretation of conformational effects such as the anomeric and α-effect in terms of potential stereoelectronic interactions, (2) development of strategies seeking to improve the efficiency of the emblematic chiral organocatalyst (S)-proline in asymmetric organocatalysis, and (3) the successful combination of enzymatic catalysis and mechanochemical activation in the mechanoenzymatic kinetic resolution of relevant biologically active compounds. As it happens, several of these contributions were inspired by seminal contributions of Ernest L. Eliel, Dieter Seebach, Benjamin List, Tomislav Friščić, Carsten Bolm and others, and accordingly this Tetrahedron Report provides relevant examples that cover beyond the 2015-2024 decade.