According to Westlake University, Deng Li's team from the university's School of Science developed a novel second-quaternary ammonium salt catalyst using the “ancient antimalarial drug” cinchona, which successfully achieved precise control of a type of special substitution reaction, providing new ideas for asymmetric catalysis research. In organic synthesis, SN2 reactions are widely used in the production of pharmaceuticals, daily necessities, and pesticides. This reaction is like an intermolecular “group exchange game”: the old group of the molecule is replaced and a new one is attached. “Numerous tests have proven that this catalytic system does not pick raw materials, is suitable for many reaction substrates with different structures, and can synthesize special chiral molecules that were difficult to prepare in the past.” Deng Li said that in the future, the cinchonidine catalytic system will continue to be optimized, the range of usable raw materials will be expanded, and the application potential of this set of catalysts will be further explored.

According to Westlake University, Deng Li's team from the university's School of Science developed a novel second-quaternary ammonium salt catalyst using the “ancient antimalarial drug” cinchona, which successfully achieved precise control of a type of special substitution reaction, providing new ideas for asymmetric catalysis research. In organic synthesis, SN2 reactions are widely used in the production of pharmaceuticals, daily necessities, and pesticides. This reaction is like an intermolecular “group exchange game”: the old group of the molecule is replaced and a new one is attached. “Numerous tests have proven that this catalytic system does not pick raw materials, is suitable for many reaction substrates with different structures, and can synthesize special chiral molecules that were difficult to prepare in the past.” Deng Li said that in the future, the cinchonidine catalytic system will continue to be optimized, the range of usable raw materials will be expanded, and the application potential of this set of catalysts will be further explored.