Professor Andre K. Isaacs

Professor Andre K. Isaacs
Department of Chemistry
College of the Holy Cross
Abstract

A Click Chemistry Approach to Nitrogen Heterocycles

My research interest is centered on a very reliable organic reaction - the copper-catalyzed cycloaddition of sulfonyl azides and terminal alkynes (CuAAC). Differential fragmentation of the resulting 1,2,3-triazole generates ketenimines or rhodium carbenoids which readily engage
with a variety of nucleophiles to provide access to heterocycles of interest to the synthetic community. We’ve demonstrated the utility of click chemistry in the synthesis of N-Heterocycles such as indolizines, dihydroisoquinolines and as an approach to beta-lactams.

Andre K. Isaacs

Professor Isaacs is a native of Jamaica, André moved to the US to attend the College of the Holy Cross where he received his B.A. in Chemistry in 2005. He received his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania in 2011 (under the guidance of Professor Jeffery D. Winkler) and worked as a post-doctoral researcher with Professor Richmond Sarpong at the University of California, Berkeley. He is currently an Associate Professor at the College of the Holy Cross. In addition to teaching courses in Organic Chemistry, he conducts research utilizing copper-mediated organic transformations. He uses his social media platform to challenge the normative culture in STEM and to increase visibility of queer and BIPOC scientists. 

Hosted by Professor Jessica Lamb