Cross-coupling methodology to form carbon-nitrogen bonds is an indispensable part of the everyday repertoire of synthetic organic chemists; a mechanistic scheme for this transformation is shown below. This methodology has been widely employed throughout academia and industry.
This lecture will include: 1) A description of how wecame to be involved in this work, starting with my first introduction to chemistry. 2) An introduction to palladium-catalyzed carbon-heteroatom bond-forming reactions, including a historical overview. 3) A description of ligand and precatalyst development employing biarylphosphines, developed at MIT. 4) The applications of these catalysts in preparing compounds of relevance to the biopharma industry and human health.