Roizen Lab Opens Door to Engaging Sulfamate Esters in Site-Selective Functionalization of Small Molecules

The Roizen laboratory is developing a strategy to employ the intrinsic geometric constraints of a molecule to alter of the site of C-H functionalization reactions. Previously, they had demonstrated that sulfamate esters could be used to guide site-selective chlorine-transfer to a typically unreactive C–H bond. This was the first demonstration that sulfamate esters could guide exogenous atom-transfer processes.  Their research, published in the Journal of Organic Chemistry, builds on this concept, suggesting that it may prove generally viable. The disclosed research is the first to use sulfamate esters to guide an exogenous group-transfer process. Specifically, they show that sulfamate ester guide xanthate-transfer, opening the door to a multitude of future investigations to engage sulfamate esters in site-selective functionalization of complex small molecules. Read more about the Roize lab's research here.