Professor Varinder Aggarwal
Gassman Lecture #3
Professor Varinder Aggarwal
School of Chemistry
University of Bristol, UK
Host: Professor Courtney Roberts
Organocatalysis applied to the Synthesis of Prostaglandins
Prostaglandins have been attractive targets in total synthesis for over 50 years, resulting in the development of new synthetic strategies and methodologies that have served the broader chemical community. However, these molecules are not just of academic interest, a number of prostaglandin analogues are used in the clinic, and some are even on the WHO list of essential medicines. In this lecture, I will describe our own approach to the family of prostaglandins, which centers around the synthesis of a key enal intermediate, formed from the L-proline catalysed dimerization of succinaldehyde. I will highlight the discovery and further optimization of this key reaction, its scale up, and subsequent application to a range of prostanoids including PGF2a, thromboxane A2, and beraprost.
Selected papers:
S. Bennett, G. Coulthard, V. K. Aggarwal, Chem. Rec., 2020, 20, 936–947.
C. Jing, S. Mallah, E. Kriemen, S. H. Bennett, V. Fasano, A. J. J. Lennox, I. Hers, V. K. Aggarwal, ACS Cent. Sci., 2020, 6, 995.
A. Pelss, N. Gandhamsetty, J. R. Smith, D. Mailhol, M. Silvi, A. Watson, I. Perez-Powell, S. Prévost, N. Schützenmeister, P, Moore, V. K. Aggarwal, Chem. Eur. J., 2018, 24, 9542.
H. Baars, M. J. Classen, V. K. Aggarwal, Org. Lett., 2017, 19, 6008.
S. Prévost, K. Thai, N. Schützenmeister, G. Coulthard, W. Erb, V. K. Aggarwal, Org. Lett., 2015, 17, 504.
G. Coulthard, W. Erb, V. K. Aggarwal, Nature, 2012, 489, 278-281.
Varinder Aggarwal
Varinder K. Aggarwal studied chemistry at Cambridge University and received his Ph.D. in 1986 under the guidance of Dr. Stuart Warren. After postdoctoral studies (1986-1988) under Prof. Gilbert Stork, Columbia University, he returned to the UK as a Lecturer at Bath University. In 1991 he moved to Sheffield University, where he was promoted to Professor in in 1997. In 2000 he moved to Bristol University where he holds the Chair in Synthetic Chemistry. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 2012. Professor Aggarwal is a renowned organic chemist who has developed new chemical methods to assemble complex, biologically important molecules. His research includes new ways of speeding up, or catalysing chemical reactions, developing new classes of reagents for iterative synthesis, and applications of these methods in medicine, such as helping to provide more effective routes to potential vaccines against tuberculosis.
Gassman Lectureship in Chemistry
Regents Professor Paul G. Gassman died in April 1993, at the age of 57. He was internationally know in the chemical community, and left behind a legacy of achievement. During his career, he served as mentor and adviser to 85 doctoral and master’s candidates as well as dozens of postdoctoral associates and undergraduate students. Numerous awards, honors, and honorary degrees were bestowed in recognition of his contributions to research and his service to the scientific, professional, and university communities. Some of these awards include election to the National Academy of Sciences (1989) and to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1992); the James Flack Norris Award in Physical Organic Chemistry (1985); Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award (1986); and the National Catalyst Award of the Chemical Manufacturers Association (1990). He served as president of the American Chemical Society in 1990. He was co-chair of the organizing committees of the National Organic Symposium (1991) and the National Conferences on Undergraduate Research meeting (1992), on the University of Minnesota campus. It was his wish that a lectureship be established to bring distinguished organic chemists to the Department of Chemistry. We are proud to present this lecture series in his honor.
