Multicomponent Reactions in Organic Synthesis

Multicomponent reactions (MCR) have emerged as a versatile and powerful methodology for the synthesis of complex molecules with often biologically relevant scaffold structures. Since fewer chemicals and solvents, as well as less energy are required, these reactions represent an environmentally–friendly alternative to standard synthetic protocols in organic chemistry and drug discovery. Edited by leading experts and with a list of authors reading like a "who′s who" in MCR chemistry, this timely work focuses on the latest advances in the field. In addition to carbene–promoted MCRs and frequently applied metal–catalyzed MCRs, it also covers recently developed catalytic enantioselective variants as well as applications in the synthesis of heterocyclic molecules and macrocycles. A comprehensive overview for every synthetic organic chemist as well as medicinal chemists working in academia and pharmaceutical companies.

1.) General Introduction on MCRs: Past, Present and Future 2.) Discovery of Novel MCRs 3.) Aryne–based MCRs 4.) Ugi–Smiles Reaction 5.) 1,3–Dicarbonyl in MCR 6.) Heterocycles in MCR 7.) Diazoacetate and Related Stable Carbene Species in MCRs 8.) Metal–catalyzed MCRs 9.) MCR in Drug Discovery 10.) MCRs for the Synthesis of Macrocycles 11.) MCR under Oxidative Conditions 12.) Allenes in Multicomponent Synthesis of Heterocycles 13.) Alkynes in Multicomponenet Synthesis of Heterocycles 14.) Cyclic Anhydrides in MCRs 15.) Radical Reaction in Multicomponent Reactions 16.) Catalytic Enantioselective MCRs

Jieping Zhu received his BSc degree from Hanzhou Normal University (P.R. China) in 1984 and his MSc degree from Lanzhou University (P.R. China) in 1987 under Prof. Y.–L. Li. In 1991, he obtained his PhD from the Université Paris XI, France, under the supervision of Prof. H.–P. Husson and Prof. J. C. Quirion. After 18 months post–doctoral research with Prof. Sir D. H. R. Barton at Texas A&M University in USA, he joined the Institut de Chimie des Substances Naturelles (CNRS, France) as Chargé de Recherche and was promoted to Director of Research 2nd class in 2000 and then 1st class in 2006. He moved to Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, in 2010 as a full professor. His main research interests center on the development of novel synthetic methods, their application in the synthesis of bioactive natural products, and the design of novel multicomponent reactions. He has published over 220 research articles and the well–received book "Multicomponenet Reactions" (Wiley–VCH, 2005). Qian Wang received her BSc and MSc degree from Lanzhou University (P.R. China) under the guidance of Prof. Y. Li. She obtained her PhD degree from Chinese University of Hong Kong under the supervision of Prof. H.N.C. Wong. After several post–doctoral stays in Switzerland and in France, she joined the Institut de Chimie des Substances Naturelles (CNRS, France) as a research engineer. In 2010, she moved to Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, as a research scientist and is currently responsable for the Synthetic Platform of the Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering at EPFL. Meixiang Wang received a BSc degree in chemistry from Fudan University, Shanghai. After spending three years at the General Research Institute of Non–ferrous Metals (GRINM, Beijing) as a research associate, he joined the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ICCAS) at Beijing as a research student. He obtained his master degree and PhD in 1989 and 1992, respectively under the supervision of Prof. Z.–T. Huang. In the next 17 years, he worked at ICCAS ranking from assistant professor, associate professor to professor. During 2000 to 2004, he served as the Director of ICCAS and Center for Molecular Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Since May 2009, he has been a professor of chemistry at Tsinghua University in Beijing. He has published over 150 research articles and his research interests include enantioselective biotransformations using whole cell catalysts and selective organic reactions for the synthesis of natural products and bioactive compounds.