21st Century Stereochemistry: Synthesis, Structure, Function, and Properties

Stereochemistry suffuses all aspects of molecular, macromolecular and supramolecular science. In keeping with its unifying purview, the 2016 Gordon Research Conference on Stereochemistry will feature the most recent advances in synthesis, catalysis, structure and function. The most centrist activities of stereoselective synthesis will highlight contributions in the domains of organic and organometallic catalysis, and main group asymmetric synthesis, for the construction of carbon-carbon and carbon heteroatom bonds with extraordinary diversity and stereocontrol. In all of these domains, special emphasis will be placed on detailed mechanistic investigations on the origins of stereoselectivity.

Stereoselective synthesis is of paramount importance in the industrial sector both in pharmaceuticals, sensors, and materials. The impact of stereochemistry will be illustrated in case studies on the discovery of stereochemically complex compounds that provide solutions to the multidimensional problem of therapeutic activity, bioavailability, non-toxicity and metabolic stability. From there, the challenges of synthesizing such materials on commercial production scales in stereocontrolled fashion will be presented for some of the most important life-saving molecules.

Nature, the quintessential stereochemist, has learned to engineer extraordinary stereoselectivity in the synthesis of everything in the biosphere. The mechanisms of enzymatic catalysis of large families of natural products will be a major theme as well as the advances in engineered biocatalysts for production of non-natural target molecules.

The universe of higher order stereochemistry found in polymers, supramolecular structures, and materials provides extraordinary opportunities for exquisite design of function from exquisite control of structure. Programmed polymers, sensors, devices, and molecular machines all require precise control of shape and directionality that emerge as function. The 2016 GRC will bring together world experts in these fields to interact with world experts in the molecular sciences to stimulate exchange of ideas that can advance both disciplines. The fresh insights that emerge from novel perspectives can often initiate new areas of inquiry.

The 2016 conference will include 29 speakers divided into nine sessions. There will also be four poster sessions for attendees to share their most recent, often unpublished results, and informal discussions will be fostered during the afternoons and after the evening lectures.