Asymmetric Hydrogenation: Reducing Double Bonds with Absolute Stereocontrol
How chiral catalysts deliver hydrogen to one face of a double bond—and only one—at industrial scale
C–C Bond Formation: The Most Valuable Reactions in Organic Synthesis
How nucleophilic, catalytic, and radical strategies build the carbon skeletons of every complex molecule
Carbohydrate Synthesis: Mastering the Most Complex Protecting Group Problems
How chemists navigate the most demanding protecting group puzzles to build complex sugars bond by bond
Macrocycle Synthesis: Overcoming Entropy to Close Large Rings
Strategic approaches to forming large rings against entropy's relentless opposition in modern organic synthesis
Transition State Theory in Practice: Designing Reactions Through Energy Analysis
How chemists use energy barriers and transition state geometry to predict, control, and optimize complex molecular transformations
Late-Stage Functionalization: Modifying Complex Molecules Without Starting Over
How C-H activation and bioorthogonal chemistry transform complex intermediates into diversification platforms
Organocatalysis: Metal-Free Strategies for Asymmetric Synthesis
How simple organic molecules catalyze stereoselective transformations rivaling enzyme precision
Fluorination Strategies: Adding the Element That Transforms Bioactivity
Modern reagents tame fluorine's reactivity, enabling precise C-F bond formation that transforms molecular properties in ways no other element can match.
Biocatalysis in Synthesis: Harnessing Enzymes as Molecular Tools
How engineered enzymes are transforming synthetic strategy by offering selectivity that small-molecule catalysts cannot match
Peptide Synthesis: From Amino Acids to Therapeutics
Strategic bond formation transforms amino acid building blocks into precisely constructed therapeutic peptides
Reduction in Synthesis: Strategic Electron Delivery to Build Complexity
How chemists choreograph electron delivery to achieve selective reduction in complex molecular environments
Nucleoside and Nucleotide Synthesis: Building Blocks of Genetic Medicine
How synthetic chemists construct the molecular alphabet of genetic medicine, one nucleoside at a time
Flow Chemistry: Continuous Processing for Safer, Better Synthesis
Continuous flow reactors overcome batch limitations through small channel physics, enabling safer reactions and simpler scale-up.
Cross-Coupling Reactions: The Palladium Revolution That Reshaped Synthesis
How palladium catalysis transformed carbon-carbon bond formation from brutal art into predictable science, enabling modular molecular assembly.
Oxidation State Manipulation: Strategic Electron Removal in Synthesis
Master strategic oxidation methods to construct molecular complexity through selective electron removal and cascade cyclizations
Photoredox Catalysis: Light as a Reagent in Modern Synthesis
Visible light transforms bench-stable molecules into radical intermediates, enabling bond formations that thermal chemistry cannot access under conditions mild enough for complex synthesis.
Ring-Forming Reactions: Building Molecular Scaffolds from Open Chains
Master the strategic principles behind cyclization chemistry to transform linear precursors into complex polycyclic architectures with predictable efficiency and stereocontrol.
Retrosynthetic Logic: How Master Chemists Think Backward to Move Forward
Master the backward logic that transforms impossible molecular targets into achievable synthetic routes through strategic disconnection and transform analysis.
Protecting Groups: The Art of Molecular Camouflage in Synthesis
Master the strategic choreography of molecular masking that enables chemists to build complex structures with surgical precision.
Stereoselective Synthesis: Controlling Three-Dimensional Molecular Architecture
Master the strategies that position every atom precisely in three-dimensional space, transforming flat formulas into functional molecular machines.
Total Synthesis Philosophy: What We Learn by Making Natural Products
Why chemists spend years synthesizing molecules nature provides for free—and why this apparent redundancy drives chemistry forward.