Grant: Canada Research Chairs

Most of the important molecules found in Nature (enzymes, proteins, RNA, DNA, etc.) are chiral and cannot be superimposed upon their mirror image. Yet, they are the most challenging ones to selectively synthesize due to their inherent similarity between various chemical structures and, while one form may be beneficial to health, the other may be harmful. Our research is directed towards the stereoselective synthesis of new and potentially bioactive organic compounds. We develop novel catalytic methods and tools to speed up drug synthesis and generate new beneficial chiral molecules, which are critical intermediates leading to many of the new products in medicine, pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, biology, food science as well as in materials science.