Oxazolidinones are coveted in the field of medicine and pharmacology for their bioactive properties. There is hope that structurally different types of oxazolidinones can be building blocks for new drugs. With this research, Assistant Professor Yasunori Toda led a team of researchers at Shinshu University to use a neutral phosphonium salt catalyst for the oxazolidinone synthesis from glycidols and isocyanates. Although the conventional method by basic catalysis caused loss of enantiomeric excess in the reaction using optically pure glycidol, the neutral catalysis inhibited the undesired racemization to afford the product in high yields with high selectivities.
Assistant Professor Toda sat down with us for a brief interview about his research into oxazolidinones.
1) What is the aim of this study?
2) What is the most important message from the paper that you want readers to understand and remember?
3) What was the most challenging part and exciting aspect of the research?
4) What's the next step?
5) What is your ultimate goal?
With the increase of drug resistant infections, new synthetic approaches to potential drug targets are very welcome. For further information please read the article on Chemical Communications .
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Chemical Communications