Dionicio Siegel on Route to Complanadine A

C&EN reported on April 23, 2010, that organic chemists Dionicio Siegel of the University of Texas, Austin, and Richmond Sarpong of the University of California, Berkeley, have set out to make complanadine A. Complanadine A aids production of nerve growth factors, something of interest in regenerative medicine and Alzheimer’s disease research. But the molecule is too scarce to study in depth. Although each team used a different strategy to attain the molecule—which is found in a small, creeping plant known as club moss—both relied on transition metals. Hidetoshi Tokuyama, an expert on alkaloid synthesis at Tohoku University, in Japan describes the two syntheses as “exceptionally efficient and elegant, showcasing the power of transition metals. “

When the teams learned that they were working on the same target, they ended up having several helpful discussions, Siegel says. “Perhaps the bigger story here is that two academics in a competitive field worked together to ensure that both papers were published back to back,” Sarpong adds.

Read C&EN article here.

Read Siegel paper here.

Read Sarpong paper here.