YSU SCIENTISTS ARE STUDYING THE CHEMICAL DOMINO

We interviewed Tigran Yeganyan, the head of the scientific grant, about the importance of the topic, the practical significance of the conducted studies, and other issues.

Referring to the goal of the presented project, Tigran Yeganyan said. "We want to obtain new derivatives of azoles containing an amino acid residue on the basis of 1,2,4-triazoles, which can be used in asymmetric synthesis as Brønsted bases and (or) ligands in reactions catalyzed by transition metals, to study the catalytic activity of the synthesized compounds in asymmetric mercapto-induced in domino reactions and evaluate their regio- and stereoselectivity depending on the structure of the reagent, substrate and catalyst".

Speaking of the main problems of modern organic chemistry and the pharmaceutical industry, he singled out the synthesis of optically pure, bioactive compounds.

"Classical chemical synthesis leads to the formation of an inactive racemate, the separation of which by an enzymatic method is impossible due to its unnatural structure. To solve this problem, various methods of asymmetric synthesis have been developed," Yeganyan emphasized and added, "Currently, the field of asymmetric synthesis is the focus of attention of world-renowned scientists."

Pointing out the great pharmaceutical use of organosulfur compounds, T. Yeganyan said that catalytic C-S bond formation is at the center of modern synthetic organic chemistry research and innovation due to its biological value.

It is noteworthy that significant achievements have been made in the process of creating new C-S connections, where mostly joining or substituting tactics are used. The addition of various sulfur-containing nucleophiles to the C=C double bond, as well as the thiolysis of epoxides, aziridines, and anhydrides, are the main methods for the formation of C-S bonds. Because most bioactive organosulfur compounds are chiral and optically active, the development of new methods for the asymmetric formation of C-S bonds is of great interest," said the head of the grant.

Referring to the important problems of modern organic synthesis, Tigran Yeganyan singled out the reduction of the number of stages of multi-stage synthesis, which can lead to the reduction of the reaction development process, the duration of the synthesis, and the economic costs, increasing the efficiency of the synthesis.

"The solution to this problem can be provided by domino reactions, during which successive conversions take place: the previous conversion triggers the next one," said T. Yeganyan.

The research topic is implemented under the leadership of Tigran Yeganyan’s scientific mentor, Deputy Dean of YSU Chemistry Faculty, Ph.D. Armen Galstyan.

Karine Hovhannisyan