A team of scientists from INEOS RAS, National Research University Higher School of Economics and Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology created catalysts containing ruthenium atom and aromatic ring. They studied their mirror forms and tested their effectiveness in the production of heterocycles often found in drugs.
Isoquinolines, which have high biological activity, are widely used as diuretics, antibiotics and antioxidants. The key step in their synthesis is the activation of carbon-hydrogen bonds in the reagents, usually carried out using metal catalysts. Palladium compounds are the most widely used, but they are not universal.
In 1993, Japanese scientists showed that ruthenium catalysts can activate carbon-hydrogen bonds. Russian researchers working with ruthenium from INEOS RAS, National Research University Higher School of Economics and Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology synthesized a complex with camphor in 2022, but it turned out to be ineffective. This year, they improved the structure, making ruthenium more accessible to reagents. The catalyst was separated into two enantiomers using chromatography, which allowed to obtain a target yield of 50-80%. This method may be useful in creating other chiral catalysts, and research will continue.
Source: Ferra
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