Enantioselective Nickel-Catalyzed α-Spirocyclization of Lactones.

Herein we report a strategy for the enantioselective synthesis of spirocycles containing all-carbon quaternary centers via nickel-catalyzed intramolecular addition of lactone enolates to aryl nitriles. The established lactone α-spirocyclization efficiently and enantioselectively forges 5-, 6-, and 7-membered rings, performing best in the synthesis of 7-membered rings (up to 90% ee). This discovery represents an expansion of the synthetic toolkit for enantioselective spirocyclization, providing access to chiral, pharmaceutically relevant spirocyclic products.

Low Part-Per-Trillion, Humidity Resistant Detection of Nitric Oxide Using Microtoroid Optical Resonators.

The nitric oxide radical plays pivotal roles in physiological as well as atmospheric contexts. Although the detection of dissolved nitric oxide in vivo has been widely explored, highly sensitive (i.e.

Synthesis of Noraugustamine and Development of an Oxidative Heck/Aza-Wacker Cascade Cyclization.

Radical and transition metal-catalyzed cascade cyclization strategies were investigated with respect to the synthesis of the tetracyclic core of the augustamine-type Amaryllidaceae alkaloids. These studies resulted in the synthesis of noraugustamine and the development of an oxidative Heck/aza-Wacker cascade forming two rings, a C-N bond, and an all-carbon quaternary center in a single step.