Comparison of Two Field Deployable PCR Platforms for SARS-CoV-2 and Influenza A and B Viruses' Detection.

Background: Respiratory viral infections are a major public health challenge and the most diagnosed medical condition, particularly for individuals living in close proximity, like military personnel. We compared the sensitivity and specificity of the Biomeme Franklin and Truelab RT-PCR thermocyclers to determine which platform is more sensitive and specific at detecting SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A and B viruses.

Methodology: RNA extracted from nasopharyngeal swabs of infected and uninfected individuals was tested on the Biomeme Franklin at Lackland and the Truelab at Wright Patterson Air Force bases.

Aminoalkylation of Alkenes Enabled by Triple Radical Sorting.

The direct synthesis of C(sp)-rich architectures is a driving force for innovation in synthetic organic chemistry. Such scaffolds impart beneficial properties onto drug molecules that correlate with greater clinical success. Consequently, there is a strong impetus to develop new methods by which to access sp-rich molecules from commercial feedstocks, such as alkenes.

Palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling of alcohols with olefins by positional tuning of a counteranion.

Transition metal-catalyzed cross-couplings have great potential to furnish complex ethers; however, challenges in the C(sp)-O functionalization step have precluded general methods. Here, we describe computationally guided transition metal-ligand design that positions a hydrogen-bond acceptor anion at the reactive site to promote functionalization. A general cross-coupling of primary, secondary, and tertiary aliphatic alcohols with terminal olefins to furnish >130 ethers is achieved.

Triple Radical Sorting: Aryl-Alkylation of Alkenes.

The cross-coupling of aryl bromides with alkenes can provide access to diverse combinatorial chemical space. Two-component couplings between these partners are well-known, but three-component aryl-functionalizations of unactivated alkenes remain underdeveloped. In particular, the aryl-alkylation of unactivated alkenes would allow for rapid construction of molecular complexity and the expedient exploration of a pharmaceutically relevant and C(sp)-rich structural landscape.