Investigations on Enantioselective Copper Mediated Oxygenations using O2 and H2O2 as Oxidants

Abstract

Stereoselective oxygenations play a crucial role in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry since the biological activity of a compound can be dictated by a single stereogenic center. Performing such oxygenations with O2 or H2O2 as oxidants would be desirable from an ecological perspective because they possess the highest O atom economy and form H2O or H2O2 as only by-products. However, appropriate catalysts are required to direct the selectivity of oxygenation reactions. For the development of such catalysts, a biomimetic approach based on Cu-enzymes is promising, since they carry out catalytic and stereoselective oxygenations under ambient conditions, using O2 or H2O2 as oxidants. This research is focused on the development of Cu-mediated enantioselective oxygenations using O2 and H2O2 as oxidants, based on the knowledge gained from enzymatic models.