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"The Science and Business of Medicinal Chemistry" was developed to provide nonscience majors with an in-depth perspective into the pharmaceutical industry. As a lecture course with a laboratory component, topics discussed include an introduction to the basic concepts of medicinal chemistry, such as drug discovery, development, and commercialization; a discussion of chemical bonding and the organic functional groups found in drug molecules; and an examination of the physiochemical properties related to drug action. Student scientific literacy of the public policy debates surrounding the pharmaceutical industry and the commercialization of science was enhanced through class discussions and group-based projects. The details of this course, its implementation, and assessment are discussed.

Methylidene species are used as model complexes for examining the decomposition of a series of ruthenium metathesis catalysts. The decomposition study has provided a basis for design and synthesis of more efficient ruthenium olefin metathesis catalysts.

Two experiments describe 1,3,5,7-cyclooctatetraene's (COT) ring-opening metathesis polymerization. The first experiment involves plate ploymerization of COT, and doping the outcome with iodine. The second experiment involves mixing COT with cis-2-butene protected with tris-buffered saline.

A highly efficient route to N-tert-buttoxycarbonyl-(N-Boc) protected beta-amino acids through the enentioselective addition of silyl ketene acetals to N-Boc-aldimines catalyzed by thiourea catalyst is presented. The conclusion states that urea derivatives of general structure serve as highly effective catalysts for the asymmetric addition of silyl ketene acetal derivatives to aldimines.

Studies show evidence supporting the bottom-face orientation of ruthenium metallacycles derived from both ethylene and propene, and the metallacycle structures derived from propene represent examples of substituted ruthenacyclobutanes and offer new insight into the preferred stereochemical orientation of metathesis intermediates. It is suggested that ruthenacyclobutanes derived from ethylene and propene are dynamic structures that proceed through a series of nonproductive metallacycle formations prior to olefin exchange.

The use of a gold-catalyzed, microwave protocol to activate alcohols through an intermolecular, SN1-type reaction to directly form unsymmetrical ethers and SN-benzyloxy carbamate- (Cbz) protected amines is reported. Results have shown this reaction to be highly reproducible and tolerant of moisture, and moderate to high product yields (53-99%) were obtained. Significantly, the intermolecular catalytic amination of alcohols to directly afford Cbz-protected amines is heretofore unprecedented using gold catalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thetert-butyl peroxide–initiated, oxidative coupling of phenols can frequently promote reactions that otherwise perform poorly under alternative conditions. Despite this utility, peroxide coupling reactions employing conventional heat often require high-dilution conditions, multiple additions of oxidant, and long reflux times, while regularly affording only moderate product yields. We recently developed an optimized protocol for peroxide-promoted, oxidative coupling that employs microwave heat. Product yields up to 98% have been attained. The performance and scope of this method relative to other oxidative coupling methodologies will be discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]