A better route to benzocyclobutenes, sought-after buildingblocks for drugs

Scripps Research chemists devise a new, C-H activation-based method for the synthesis of BCBs

16-May-2023 - Scripps Research chemists have solved a long-standing problem in the field of pharmaceutical chemistry with a relatively simple and controllable method for making benzocyclobutenes (BCBs)—a class of reactive compounds that are highly valued as building blocks for drug molecules, but have been ...

New compound that withstands extreme heat and electricity could lead to next-generation energy storage devices

Flexible polymers made with a new generation of the Nobel-winning “click chemistry” reaction find use in capacitors and other applications

17-Feb-2023 - Society’s growing demand for high-voltage electrical technologies – including pulsed power systems, cars and electrified aircraft, and renewable energy applications – requires a new generation of capacitors that store and deliver large amounts of energy under intense thermal and electrical ...

Chemists develop framework to enable efficient synthesis of 'information-dense' molecules

Researchers harness information theory to better understand how to make complex and compact molecules resembling those in nature

27-Oct-2020 - A team led by scientists at Scripps Research has developed a theoretical approach that could ease the process of making highly complex, compact molecules. Such molecules are often found in plants and other organisms, and many are considered desirable starting points for developing potential new ...

Inhoffen Medal 2019 awarded to specialist for synthetic organic chemistry

08-Apr-2019 - Medically relevant compounds can often be found in nature. To make them suitable for drugs, they need to be isolated from their natural sources. If sufficient quantities of the agent cannot be isolated in that manner, chemical synthesis comes into play. Without chemical synthesis, many agents ...

Potential 'missing link' in chemistry that led to life on earth found

08-Nov-2017 - Chemists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have found a compound that may have been a crucial factor in the origins of life on Earth. Origins-of-life researchers have hypothesized that a chemical reaction called phosphorylation may have been crucial for the assembly of three key ...

Making polymer chemistry 'click'

26-Jul-2017 - A team of researchers has developed a faster and easier way to make sulfur-containing polymers that will lower the cost of large-scale production. The achievement opens the door to creating new products from this class of polymers while producing far less hazardous waste. The researchers' ...

New method enlists electricity for easier, cheaper, greener chemistry

22-Apr-2016 - Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have found a new and better way to achieve a chemical reaction that is used widely in the pharmaceutical as well as flavor and fragrance industries. Traditional methods of "allylic oxidation" typically employ toxic and/or expensive reagents such ...

Chemists find a way to synthesize complex plant molecule phorbol and its derivatives

30-Mar-2016 - In a landmark feat of chemical synthesis, scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have developed a 19-step process for making the naturally occurring compound phorbol in the laboratory, in quantities that are useful for pharmaceutical research. Phorbol has long been considered a sort ...

A better way to make unnatural amino acids

The findings have potential applications in cancer, infectious disease, Alzheimer's drugs

17-Mar-2014 - Chemists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have devised a greatly improved technique for making amino acids not found in nature. These "unnatural" amino acids traditionally have been very difficult to synthesize, but are sought after by the pharmaceutical industry for their potential ...

Scripps Research team wins global race to achieve landmark synthesis of perplexing natural product

Compound's complexity had confounded chemists since discovery in 1993

18-Jan-2010 - In 1993 researchers discovered a chemical compound in a sponge off Palau, an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, that has shown anticancer, antibacterial, and antifungal pharmaceutical promise. But that wasn't its greatest allure, at least not for chemists. This compound, called Palau'amine, is ...