Assistant Professor LU YIXIN

Research Interests

Organic Chemistry/Medicinal chemistry

Asymmetric Catalysis: Currently, we are intensively investigating asymmetric organocatalysis. We intend to use multi-functional organocatalysts which can be easily derived from natural chiral pool to catalyze a number of important organic transformations in highly stereoselective manners.
Some on-going projects:

• Novel chiral primary amine-catalyzed asymmetric organocatalytic reactions;
• Development of asymmetric reactions mediated by cinchona alkaloids and their novel structural derivatives;
• Development of asymmetric synthetic methods to access chiral fluorinated molecules.

• Development of "magic" analgesic therapeutics with much-reduced side effects – we are preparing both novel opioid peptides and opiates toward this ultimate goal;
• Synthesis of natural product analogues and exploring their potential anti-cancer activities.

Selected Publications

• Zhu, Q.; Lu, Y. "Chiral Primary Amine Mediated Conjugate Addition of Branched Aldehydes to Vinyl Sulfone: Asymmetric Generation of Quaternary Carbons", Chem. Commun. 2010, 46, xxxx

• Zheng, J.; Liu, X.; Yuan, Q.; Shin, Y.-J.; Sun, D..; Lu, Y. "Thiol-dependent DNA Cleavage by Aminomethylated Beaucage's Reagent", Org. Biomol. Chem. 2010, 8, xxxx.

• Jiang, Z.; Yang, H.; Han, X.; Wong, M. W.; Lu, Y. "Direct Asymmetric Aldol Reactions between Aldehydes and Ketones Catalyzed by L-Tryptophan in the Presence of Water", Org. Biomol. Chem. 2010, 8, xxxx.

• Han, X.; Kwiatkowski, J.; Xue, F.; Huang, K.-W.; Lu, Y. "Asymmetric Mannich Reaction of Fluorinated Ketoesters with a Tryptophan-Derived Bifunctional Thiourea Catalyst", Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2009, 48, 7604. (highlighted in SYNFACTS 2010, 102).

• Zhu, Q.; Lu, Y. "Chiral Amine-Mediated Asymmetric conjugate additions to vinyl sulfones", Aust. J. Chem. 2009, 62, 951 (invited paper for a UQ-NUS special issue of AJC).
  
  
• Zhu, Q.; Lu, Y. "Enantioselective Conjugate Addition of Nitroalkanes to Vinyl Sulfone: an Organocatalytic Access to Chiral Amines", Org. Lett. 2009, 11, 1721. (highlighted in SYNFACTS 2009, 683).
  

• Han, X.; Luo, J.; Liu, C.; Lu, Y. "Asymmetric Generation of Fluorine-Containing Quaternary Carbons Adjacent to Tertiary Stereocenters: Uses of Fluorinated Methines as Nucleophiles", Chem. Commun. 2009, 2044. (highlighted in SYNFACTS 2009, 564, one of the top ten most cited ChemComm communications in 2009).

• Xu, L.; Luo, J.; Lu, Y. "Asymmetric catalysis with primary amine-based organocatalysts", Chem. Commun. 2009, 1807 (One of the top ten most cited ChemComm feature articles in 2009).
  
  
• Luo, J.; Xu, L.; Hay, A. S.; Lu, Y. "Asymmetric Michael addition mediated by novel cinchona alkaloid-derived bifunctional catalysts containing sulfonamides", Org. Lett. 2009, 11, 437. (highlighted in SYNFACTS 2009, 3, 331).

• Zhu, Q.; Cheng, L.; Lu, Y. "Asymmetric Michael addition of ketones to vinyl sulfone", Chem. Commun. 2008, 6315.

• Cheng, L.; Tan, H.; Wu, X.; Hu, R.; Aw, C.; Zhao, M.; Shen, H.-M., Lu, Y. "Novel synthetic luteolin analogues-caused sensitization of tumor necrosis factor-a-induced apoptosis in human tumor cells", Org. Biomol. Chem. 2008, 6, 4102.

• Zhu, Qiang; Lu, Y. "Organocatalytic Michael Addition of Aldehydes to Vinyl Sulfones: Enantioselective a-alkylations of Aldehydes and Their Derivatives", Org. Lett. 2008, 10, 4803 (one of the most read articles in November 2008).

• Ghosh, A.; Lou, J.; Chen, L.; Weltrowska G.; Lemieux, C.; Chung, N.N.; Lu, Y.; Schiller, Peter W. "Novel Opioid Peptide Derived Antagonists Containing (2S)-2-Methyl-3-(2,6-dimethyl-4-carbamoylphenyl)propanoic Acid [(2S)-Mdcp]", J. Med. Chem. 2008, 51, 5866.

• Xu, L.; Lu, Y. "Primary amino acids: privileged organocatalysts in enantioselective organocatalysis", Org. Biomol. Chem. 2008, 6, 2047 (featured as inside front cover)

• Cheng, L.; Han, X.; Huang, H.; Wong, M. W.; Lu, Y. "Highly Diasteroselctive and Enantioselective Direct Organocatalytic anti-selective Mannich Reactions Employing N-tosylimines", Chem. Commun. 2007, 4143.

• Cheng, L.; Aw, C.; Ong, S.; Lu, Y. "Facile cleavage of ethers in ionic liquid", Bull. Chem. Soc. Jpn. 2007, 80, 2008.

• Cheng, L.; Wu, X.; Lu, Y. "Direct Asymmetric Three-Component Organocatalytic anti-selective Mannich Reactions in a Purely Aqueous System", Org. Biomol. Chem. 2007, 5, 1018 (recognized as one of top 50 most-cited OBC articles published in 2007)

• Wu, X.; Jiang, Z.; Shen, H.-M.; Lu, Y. "Highly Enantioselective Direct Aldol Reactions Catalyzed by a Hydrophobic Organocatalyst Derived from Threonine in Water", Adv. Synth. Catal. 2007, 349, 812. (one of the most cited ASC articles published in 2006/2007).

• Lu, Y.; Lum, T. K.; Leow, Y. W. Augustine; Weltrowsak, G.; Nguyen, T. M.-D.; Lemieux, C.; Chung, N. N.; and Schiller, P. W. "Replacement of the N-terminal Tyrosine Residue in Opioid Peptides with 3-(2,6- Dimethyl-4-carbamoylphenyl)propanoic Acid (Dcp) Results in Novel Opioid Antagonists", J. Med. Chem. 2006, 49, 5382.

• Jiang, Z.; Liang, Z.; Wu, X.; Lu, Y. "Asymmetric Aldol Reactions Catalyzed by Tryptophan in Water", Chem. Commun. 2006, 2801. (highlighted in SYNFACTS 2006, 842, and recognized as one of top 50 most-cited ChemComm articles published in 2006)

• Lu, Y. "Recent Advances in the stereocontrolled synthesis of antisense phosphorothioates", Mini. Rev. Med. Chem. 2006, 6, 319-330.