Asymmetric enamine catalysis.

Small-molecule H-bond donors in asymmetric catalysis.

Molecularly imprinted polymers and their use in biomimetic sensors.

Hydrogen bonding is responsible for the structure of much of the world around us. The unusual and complex properties of bulk water, the ability of proteins to fold into stable three-dimensional structures, the fidelity of DNA base pairing, and the binding of ligands to receptors are among the manifestations of this ubiquitous noncovalent interaction. In addition to its primacy as a structural determinant, hydrogen bonding plays a crucial functional role in catalysis. Hydrogen bonding to an electrophile serves to decrease the electron density of this species, activating it toward nucleophilic attack. This principle is employed frequently by Nature's catalysts, enzymes, for the acceleration of a wide range of chemical processes. Recently, organic chemists have begun to appreciate the tremendous potential offered by hydrogen bonding as a mechanism for electrophile activation in small-molecule, synthetic catalyst systems. In particular, chiral hydrogen-bond donors have emerged as a broadly applicable class of catalysts for enantioselective synthesis. This review documents these advances, emphasizing the structural and mechanistic features that contribute to high enantioselectivity in hydrogen-bond-mediated catalytic processes.

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Asymmetric catalysis by chiral hydrogen-bond donors.

The current status of organic synthesis is hampered by costly protecting-group strategies and lengthy purification procedures after each synthetic step. To circumvent these problems, the synthetic potential of multicomponent domino reactions has been utilized for the efficient and stereoselective construction of complex molecules from simple precursors in a single process. In particular, domino reactions mediated by organocatalysts are in a way biomimetic, as this principle is used very efficiently in the biosynthesis of complex natural products starting from simple precursors. In this Minireview, we discuss the current development of this fast-growing field.

Asymmetric organocatalytic domino reactions.

A highly enantioselective (S) diphenylpyrrolinol silyl ether promoted tandem Michael−aldol reaction of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes with 2-mercaptobenzaldehydes has been developed. The method affords ...

Wei Wang

Papers

Enantioselective organocatalytic tandem Michael-Aldol reactions: one-pot synthesis of chiral thiochromenes.

Boronic Acid-Based Sensors

Chiral binaphthyl-derived amine-thiourea organocatalyst-promoted asymmetric Morita-Baylis-Hillman reaction.

Organocatalytic asymmetric Michael addition of 2,4-pentandione to nitroolefins.

Building fluorescent sensors by template polymerization: the preparation of a fluorescent sensor for D-fructose.