Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Organometallic chemistry

Catalyst takes control to heart

Nature volume 456, pages 883–885 (2008)Cite this article

Some transition-metal catalysts control organic reactions so that, given a choice of two mirror-image products, only one forms. The metal atom in these catalysts has been ignored as a source of control — until now.

In a classic episode of The Simpsons, Homer encounters problems when he enters a three-dimensional world beyond the flat environs of his cartoon existence. Chemists can appreciate his culture shock because, although flat organic molecules are relatively easy to make, three-dimensional molecules are much more challenging — especially those containing chiral carbon atoms, which have four different groups attached. Chiral molecules exist as one of two mirror-image forms (enantiomers), each of which interacts differently with other chiral entities. Because most biological molecules are chiral, it is essential to find ways of making enantiomerically pure compounds for drug discovery and other biochemical applications.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Get just this article for as long as you need it

$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Chiral catalysts for olefin metathesis.

References

  1. Malcomson, S. J., Meek, S. J., Sattely, E. S., Schrock, R. R. & Hoveyda, A. H. Nature 456, 933–937 (2008).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  2. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2005/animation.html

  3. Seiders, T. J., Ward, D. W. & Grubbs, R. H. Org. Lett. 3, 3225–3228 (2001).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Funk, T. W., Berlin, J. M. & Grubbs, R. H. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 128, 1840–1846 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Van Veldhuizen, J. J., Garber, S. B., Kingsbury, J. S. & Hoveyda, A. H. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 124, 4954–4955 (2002).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Alexander, J. B., La, D. S., Cefalo, D. R., Hoveyda, A. H. & Schrock, R. R. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 120, 4041–4042 (1998).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Fujimura, O. & Grubbs, R. H. J. Org. Chem. 63, 824–832 (1998).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Steven T. Diver is in the Department of Chemistry, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, 572 Natural Sciences Complex, Amherst, New York 14260-3000, USA. diver@buffalo.edu,

    Steven T. Diver

Authors
  1. Steven T. Diver
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Diver, S. Catalyst takes control to heart. Nature 456, 883–885 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/456883a

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/456883a

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing