<br/>The aim of this research is the synthesis of bifunctional thiourea catalysts and testing of their catalytic activity in direct amidation reactions. Even though about 30% of pharmaceuticals contain an amide, their methods of formation still need to be improved. The most popular ways of forming amides use very reactive and toxic reagents, leading to the formation of corrosive and toxic by-products. Alternatively, a direct catalytic formation of amides is potentially more selective and produces water as the only by-product. The most active amidation catalysts to date are boron-based, but they have found limited use in the pharmaceutical industry because reaction conditions are far from ideal.<br/>Thiourea catalysts have demonstrated a broad range of activity in carbonyl addition reactions due to their strong hydrogen-bonding activation. Thioureas thus have great potential as catalysts for amidation reactions. In this research, a series of bifunctional thiourea catalysts, based on quinoline and pyrazine/pyrimidine derivatives, were synthesized and tested for amidation activity. Additionally, this research marks the first time that a thiosquaramide catalyst was tested in an amidation reaction.

Development of bifunctional thiourea catalysts for direct amidation reactions

2019 Spring National Meeting

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