Click chemistry with Big Pharma

There is the click chemistry report by Luke Timmerman from Xconomy (5/19/2010).

It tells the pharma's take on click chemistry and the phone rings on the desk of technology transfer leader of Scripps: Integrated Diagnostics, Life Technologies, Roche, Waltham, ImmunoGen, Seattle Genetics, and Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company.

Click chemistry as a philosophy existed before a really wonderful reaction was in place. After the miracle reaction was discovered, there is still more convincing work to do. "We (chemists) are trained as most experts to do the hardest things and do them well", stated Dr. Finn, but "we 're going to find or create the easiest reactions". Giving some thoughts, one might just agree that "it's a lot harder to invent a process that works all the time, than it is to make the process that's really difficult work a few times".  

The goal is to obtain function or properties through structures. But our ability (or inability) is poor in predicting what structure would deliver a desired function. The solution is libraries of compounds and screening aided by some "designing". This is THE reason why easier reactions are needed and applied, by big pharm. 

What makes the report more fun is really the other things - scientists, personality, truthful thinking, straight talk, and a lot of character.

By Sharpless, the "sincere-but-absent-minded professor": “I’m sort of the old mad dog who doesn’t believe in a lot of stuff. I have a hard time with biotechnology and green chemistry. It’s hard for me.” 

More: “The point of chemistry is in the middle where everything gets connected. Function is what matters. To me, it wouldn’t matter if you can make malignancies regress with three different types of inorganic salts as long as they weren’t toxic."
   
Smile, or laugh.
                       

Click chemistry into undergraduate labs

I have to say it is somewhat disappointing to see the currrent status of click chemistry in undergraduate labs. One has yet to identify a laboratory in which click chemistry is in use for undergraduate organic chemistry experiment. A few publications in Journal of Chemical Education should give a good starting point.

Back in 2008 researchers from Scripps Institute and other colleges published a wonderful click chemistry paper (J. Chem. Edu. 2005, 1833). It was tailored and tested to be robust undergruduate procedures in click chemistry. It should be an excellent opportunity for touching on some uptodate organic chemistry. Click chemistry between azide and terminal acetylenes can be introduced with Diels-Alder reaction.

Another publication covers alternative reaction media of Diels-Alder reaction as green chemistry solutions (J. Chem. Edu. 2009, 488). Both solventless-room temperature and water-as-solvent conditions are close to click chemistry standards.

A third paper deals with "Synthesis of Imidazolium Room-Temperature Ionic Liquids" (J. Chem. Edu. 2009, 856). It intends to use the synthesis to demonstrate the concepts of green chemistry and click chemistry.  

We look forward to the change.