Stabilizing Organolithium Reagents with Organogel Delivery Vehicles
Peter O’Brien and David K. Smith describe a method to stabilize organolithium reagents.
Organometallic reagents such as organolithiums and organomagnesiums are valuable tools in modern synthesis. However, their high reactivity makes them challenging to handle. It is usual to perform reactions using them under strictly inert conditions and at low temperatures. This has limited the take-up of such methods by non-specialist researchers. Even for well-trained researchers, there are hazards associated with the use of these reagents that would be good to mitigate. Furthermore, the long-term storage of these reagents is an issue, as samples can decompose over time. These factors are problematic in the research laboratory setting but also in industry, where organolithium reagents see use in polymer synthesis and pharmaceutical manufacture. In the highlighted article, Drs. Petr Slavik (currently at Santiago Lab, Czech Republic), Benjamin Trowse (currently at Apex Molecular, UK) together with Professors Peter O’Brien and David K. Smith (University of York, UK) report a way of stabilizing organolithiums in the gel phase making use of a simple low-molecular-weight gelator.
Read the full article Organogel Delivery Vehicles for the Stabilization of Organolithium Reagents
