CHE 606 Special Topics in Synthetic Chemistry.

Synthetic chemistry, as a sub-discipline of chemistry, has historically focused on the molecule. Over the last 60 years tremendous advances have been made in molecular synthesis leading to the conclusion that there are very few if any molecular compounds that cannot be prepared.

However, the things that we want are usually not single molecules but ensembles of molecules. This is obviously true with materials and is also true in medicinal chemistry where a physiological response is due the interaction of a small molecule with a biological system. The nature of the intermolecular interactions plays a critical role determining the properties of any ensemble of molecules. Clearly, it is important that we understand these intermolecular interactions in order make predictions on the structure of molecular ensembles in new situations. Successful Total Synthesis requires both successful molecular as well as supramolecular synthesis.

In contrast to the forces that hold atoms together to form molecules, the forces that hold molecules together to form ensembles of molecules are often weak and non-directional making predictions about supramolecular chemistry very difficult. This has caused the study of supramolecular chemistry to lag behind the study of molecular chemistry. However, supramolecular chemistry is very important and this course, CHE 606, is an attempt to introduce supramolecular chemistry into our curriculum.

CHE 606 is an introductory course. Its prerequisites are just the courses of any undergraduate degree in chemistry. However, the course will be organized like an advanced graduate course. The current plan is to start each meeting with a general discussion of a specific area of supramolecular chemistry. We will then analyze recent publications in this area of supramolecular chemistry. The general discussions will usually be led by a faculty member and the analysis of recent literature will be led by the students.

The textbook for this course is Supramolecular Chemistry, Jonathan W. Steed and Jerry L. Atwood (John Wiley & Sons).