Attaching fluorine atoms to organic molecules is important in, for example, tweaking the properties of a drug candidate. John Groves at Princeton University in New Jersey and his colleagues have now discovered a way to substitute fluorine atoms at previously inaccessible positions in a molecule: carbon–hydrogen bonds, which are notoriously unreactive.
The researchers used a manganese porphyrin catalyst to assist the reaction, which they say requires only simple apparatus and mild conditions. They were able to fluorinate simple hydrocarbons and even complex steroid molecules with yields of up to 60%.
The technique could be used to incorporate radioactive fluorine into a wide range of biomolecules for imaging.
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Tagging molecules with fluorine. Nature 489, 339 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/489339e
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/489339e
