A new method for the sustainable valorisation of alcohols in organic synthesis

The first work developed by Dr. Manuel Nappi's team since joining CIQUS has just been published in the journal Chemical Science(link is external). It reports a new sustainable and metal-free method for the deoxygenative coupling of alcohols and pyridines promoted by visible light. Given the mild and water-compatible reaction conditions, small molecules and DNA headpieces can be functionalized with a wide range of alcohols, including pharmaceuticals such as haloperidol and ezetimibe.

Manuel Nappi, "USC - Manuela Barreiro" distinguished researcher, joined CIQUS as junior scientist to develop his independent line of research, which focuses on the invention and development of visible-light-mediated chemical reactions. This study represents a step forward for the sustainable synthesis of small molecules and DNA-Encoded Libraries.

CiQUS, talent attraction and development

Manuel Nappi did his BSc and MPhil degrees in Turin and obtained his PhD in Organic Chemistry at the Institut Català d’Investigació Química(link is external) (ICIQ). In 2012, he did a six-month predoctoral stay at Princeton University(link is external), in the group of Prof. David MacMillan(link is external), recently awarded the 2021 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and guest of honor at the CiQUS Chemistry at the Frontier symposium. From 2014 to 2020, he worked in the group of Prof. Matthew Gaunt as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Cambridge(link is external), UK.

Since November 2020, he has been part of the CiQUS scientific staff as "USC - Manuela Barreiro" Distinguished Researcher. This is a new type of contract offered by the University of Santiago de Compostela(link is external), with a maximum duration of eight years. In the 2021 call, only four positions of Distinguished Researcher were offered in the USC Singular Research Centers.

Reference: Sai Rohini Narayanan Kolusu and Manuel Nappi; Metal-free Deoxygenative Coupling of Alcohol-Derived Benzoates and Pyridines for Small Molecules and DNA-Encoded Libraries Synthesis; Chemical Science 2022. https://doi.org/10.1039/D2SC01621D(link is external)