Enantioselective Indium Allylation Cited in SYNFACTS

Our enantioselective allylation of hydrazones has been written up in SYNFACTS (Synfacts 2005, 1, 153) by Paul Knochel and Andrei Gavryushin. For detalis of our catalytic reaction, scroll down for our prior news item.

Congratulations Xiaomin Jin

2 November 2005

Xiaomin Jin successfully defended his MS Thesis today. Congratulations Jin.

First Example of Catalytic Enantioselective Allyl Indium

The Cook Group has published the first example of an enantioselective allylation reaction with allyl indium using catalytic amounts of a chiral source.

"Catalytic Enantioseletive Indium-Mediated Allylation of Hydrazones"
Cook, G. R.; Kargbo, R.; Maity, B.
Org. Lett., 2005, 7, 2767

Congratulations to Robert

Robert Kargo has been awarded a Pfizer Diversity Graduate Fellowship. This award will provide stipend support for one year and fly him out to Pfizer-Groton to present his research at their annual symposium.

WAY TO GO!!!

What's Cooking in the Cook Group

by Brandon Gustafson - December 2003

Since the last time the Cook Group has appeared in ChemNews, we’ve undergone a nearly 50% turnover in people so most of this article is about who we lost and who we initiated as cookies.

First of all, we have gone from two post-docs to one. Mani took a postdoctoral position with Prof. Jin Cha at Wayne State in Detroit and Liangong obtained an academic position in Beijing. However, Dr. Bikash Maity from NCL, Pune, India, joined the group and is working on catalytic asymmetric Pd/In-mediated allylation of carbonyls. (Note: Dr. Wei Xu, from Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry arrived at the end of December adding to our MMP projects).

Graduate students Robert Kargbo (working on indium-mediated allylation of imines and aziridines) and Xiaomin Jin (synthesizing MMP inhibitors) are still with us, but we have gained two more members. First, Manjusha Saraswathiamma joined from Kerala, India, and is working on palladium catalyzed methodology. Secondly. Ryuji Hayashi joined from Indiana and is working on the synthesis of MMP inhibitors.

Finally, the undergraduates to round out the group; the new-comer Kristin Meyer joined the group this fall and is assisting with indium-mediated cyclizations. Beginning Spring 2004, Karen Beckman will join the group and hopefully announce what she wants to do. Finally, Brandon Gustafson (I’ve been here forever) is working on indium-mediated cyclizations.

As you can see, the Cook Group is still around. We invite you to stop by or look us up on the web at and see what we are all about.