The Sammakia group is interested in the organic synthesis, broadly defined.  We study the total synthesis of natural products, the development of new methods and catalysts for organic synthesis, mechanistic features of reactions that proceed with high levels of selectivity, and the use of organic synthesis as a probe for problems in chemical biology.  Often times, a single project will incorporate aspects of all these interests.  Three projects, representative of our approach to organic synthesis, are described below.

 

 

Oxocarbenium Ions in Organic Synthesis

Methods and Strategies for the Total Synthesis of the Oxo Polyene Macrolide Antibiotics

Selective Catalysis

The Synthesis of Natural Products