The publication by Prof. Dorota Gryko in the Journal of the American Chemical Society

The team of Prof. Dorota Gryko has developed a unique method of generating alkyl radicals from electrophilic strained molecules. The research results have been published in the prestigious Journal of the American Chemical Society. Until now, the functionalization of spring-loaded cyclic reagents (e.g. bicyclo[1.1.0]butanes) was based on their reactions with nucleophiles and nucleophilic radicals. The use of photo-induced catalysis with porphyrinoid cobalt complexes (including vitamin B12) allowed the team of Prof. Gryko for reversing the natural polarity of these reactants by converting them into alkyl radicals. The applicability of this methodology is demonstrated by the design of two distinct types of reactions: Giese-type addition and Co/Ni-catalyzed cross-coupling. Considering the wide application of structural motifs derived from strained bicyclic systems in the design of new drugs, the discovery of Prof. Gryko may find potential application in the pharmaceutical industry.

The article is available at: https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.0c00245