Nickel Catalyst Drives Enantioselective Drug Scaffold
Why it matters: Pharma firms can cut catalyst expenses by >50% while reliably making single‑enantiomer drug intermediates.
- Prof. Sangwon Seo (DGIST) leads the research that created the nickel catalyst for enantioselective β‑methylene carbonyl construction.
- Nickel catalyst achieves near‑perfect regio‑ and enantioselectivity by coupling simple alkynes and carbonyls, bypassing expensive noble metals.
- Angewandte Chemie International Edition published the findings, highlighting the method’s broad functional‑group tolerance and applicability to real drug scaffolds.
- Pharmaceutical industry can adopt this earth‑abundant technology to produce single‑enantiomer drug intermediates with reduced cost and waste.
Prof. Sangwon Seo’s team at DGIST unveiled a nickel‑based catalyst that assembles β‑methylene carbonyl scaffolds with exclusive enantioselectivity, using cheap feedstocks and avoiding harsh bases or auxiliaries. The method delivers single‑mirror‑image drug intermediates reliably even in complex molecules, promising a cheaper, greener route for pharmaceutical synthesis.
