The Friedel-Crafts (FC) reaction of aromatic compounds with carbonyl compounds is one of the most fundamental reactions in organic chemistry. Lewis acid (LA) promoted alkylation and acylation reactions of aromatic substrates yield important substituted aromatic products.
Phenylethanolamine & alpha hydroxyamide are the core structural motif of many adrenergic agonists/antagonists and therapeutics currently on the market. Our effort mainly focus on the preparation of a diverse library of phenylethanolamines & alpha hydroxyamides and assaying their bioactivity as part of a focused medicinal chemistry project. SAR (Structure-Activity- Relationship) studies of the first generation of lead compounds will be expanded into a targeted medicinal chemistry program. The development of a novel carbon-carbon bond forming reaction will give rapid access to the desired library.
