Mild Chemical and Biological Synthesis of Donor-Acceptor Flanked Reporter Stilbenes: Demonstration of a Physiological Wittig Olefination Reaction

Palladium-Catalyzed, ortho-Selective C-H Halogenation of Benzyl Nitriles, Aryl Weinreb Amides, and Anilides

A palladium-catalyzed, ortho-selective C-H halogenation methodology is reported herein. The highlight of the work is the highly selective C(sp²)-H functionalization of benzyl nitriles in the presence of activated C(sp³)-H bond, which results in good yields of the halogenated products with excellent regioselectivity. Along with benzyl nitriles, aryl Weinreb amides and anilides have been evaluated for the transformation using aprotic conditions. Mechanistic studies yield interesting aspects with respect to the pathway of the reaction and the directing group abilities.

Tandem Wittig/Diels–Alder diversification of genetically encoded peptide libraries

In this paper, we developed a tandem of two carbon–carbon bond-forming reactions to chemically diversify libraries of peptides displayed on a bacteriophage.

Site-selective incorporation and ligation of protein aldehydes

The incorporation of aldehyde handles into proteins, and subsequent chemical reactions thereof, is rapidly proving to be an effective way of generating homogeneous, covalently linked protein constructs that can display a vast array of functionality.