Chemistry Seminar - Flow Chemistry - Exploiting Reactive Intermediates and Discovering New Reactions

Title:  Flow Chemistry - Exploiting Reactive Intermediates and Discovering New Reactions

Speaker: Marcus Baumann; School of Chemistry, University College Dublin, Ireland

Abstract: This talk will showcase the effective exploitation of continuous flow reactors for the safe generation of reactive intermediates using photochemical as well as thermal strategies. These will include azides, nitrenes, carbenes as well as benzynes that can be safely generated and consumed within the miniaturised flow environment en route to valuable chemical building blocks. Moreover, the strategic use of such flow approaches towards the discovery of new reactions and reactivity modes will be highlighted as an area with untapped potential in modern organic synthesis.

Bio: Marcus Baumann graduated with a Diploma in Chemistry from Philipps-University Marburg, Germany in 2007 before joining the group of Prof. Steven V. Ley FRS at the University of Cambridge for his PhD which focused on developing continuous flow methods for the synthesis of bioactive entities. In 2011, he moved to Irvine, California as a postdoc in the group of Prof. Larry E. Overman. Supported by the Alexander-von-Humboldt Foundation his research led to the discovery of a novel ETP alkaloid analogue that has since undergone extensive preclinical studies as a promising anti-cancer agent. In 2013, Marcus returned to the UK for postdoctoral studies with Prof. Ian R. Baxendale at the University of Durham targeting scalable flow routes of industrially relevant building blocks. In 2017 Marcus joined University College Dublin where he currently is an Associate Professor in the School of Chemistry (Baumann Research Group).  He leads a large research group focusing on flow-based routes of drug-like building blocks utilising photochemistry, biocatalysis and various temperature-sensitive transformations, and collaborates actively with partners from the chemical industries.