Morken Makes Consecutive C(sp3)-C(sp3) Connections Combining Copper and Chiral Boronates
Citation: Zhang, X.; Palka, K. T.; Zhang, M.; Morken, J. P. Nature 2026 , 652 , 359-364. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10261-9 Background: The construction of alkyl-alkyl (or C(sp3)-C(sp3) bonds) is one of the key challenges that organic chemists are tackling in the 2020s. Transition metal catalysis, particularly the Suzuki reaction, has enabled the formation of biaryl compounds so easily and so efficiently that it has begun to warp the type of molecules we are making to favor flat, arene-rich compounds. It is not a bad thing that these reactions are so powerful - we are accessing more chemical space than ever before - it just sets a high standard for any future methods. Molecules with a higher fraction of saturated carbons (high Fsp3) are potentially advantageous because there are more possible isomers (regio-isomers, diastereomers, and enantiomers), and therefore may have more specific binding to biological targets. When it comes to making di...
