Research

Carbon atoms are tetravalent, and when all four bonds are to different substituents, two compounds can exist that share the same structural formula yet are related as mirror images. These are enantiomers; molecules that exhibit this property are called chiral molecules, and the central carbon atom is referred to as a stereogenic (asymmetric) carbon.

Because biological systems are highly organized and inherently chiral environments, right- and left-handed molecules are strictly distinguished in vivo. As a result, one enantiomer may show excellent therapeutic efficacy, whereas the other can even cause adverse effects. Consequently, selectively synthesizing only the desired enantiomer is a critically important challenge in drug development.

Various approaches to achieve this are known, but the most efficient and theoretically refined strategy is asymmetric synthesis. Our laboratory pursues the development of new reactions to further advance asymmetric synthesis.