New Methods for Synthesis and Structure Determination

I have a long - standing interest in structure determination. Assigning absolute configuration to a
new structure is a time - consuming process. The Competing Enantioselective Conversion (CEC)
strategy was developed in my group to determine the configuration of optic ally pure secondary
alcohols and amines. This strategy will be discussed and new advances will be presented.
Natural product synthesis forces us to develop strategies and methods to overcome synthetic
challenges, and it helps to establish structure and pr ovide material for testing. I will present recent
syntheses of a sesquiterpene and a macrolide that illustrate challenges we encountered and how
they were overcome.