2-25-08

Media Release

Chemistry Breakthrough Could Have Electronic, Biomedical Implications

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Chemists at Oregon State University have discovered a new way to make “biaryl” compounds, with a type of reaction that has been known since the 1920s but seldom used to make this important class of chemicals, which are found in everything from TVs to cancer drugs.

Biaryl compounds are common, used in liquid crystal displays, computer monitors and even therapeutic drugs. But the new approach to making these organic molecules could be less costly, more efficient and will expand their range of uses, researchers say.

The findings, which were recently published in the Journal of Organic Chemistry, have already been used to produce siamenol, an agent being studied as a possible AIDS drug. But there may a huge range of future applications, scientists say.

“This approach to making biaryl compounds works incredibly well, better than we thought possible,” said Rich Carter, an associate professor of chemistry at OSU. “We’re just barely beginning with this and the research interest is just exploding, it’s getting a lot of interest. The potential is not just a better way to make the same thing, but a way to make classes of compounds that never before existed.”

Besides opening up a new method to make these compounds, Carter said, the approach uses no solvents or heavy metals as some other processes do, and because of that is environmentally friendly.

According to Carter, the current technique for making biaryl compounds is a fairly basic chemical reaction, but it’s expensive, requires the use of heavy metals and also reduces the possible function of the resulting compounds.

The new approach uses what is called a “Diels-Alder Approach” to biaryls, a type of chemical reaction whose discovery formed the basis for a Nobel Prize in 1950. However, this reaction had rarely been used to make biaryl compounds.

“Because of the new chemical approaches used, there may be things we can do with the new compounds that were not possible before,” Carter said. “There may be new applications to use biaryl compounds as catalysts for other reactions. And some medicinal possibilities come to mind for HIV, cancer, maybe even migraine headaches.”

Continued research will learn more about the new range of compounds possible with this approach, Carter said. The studies are being funded by the National Science Foundation.