Dr. Robert Holton | |
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Born | 1944 (age 80–81) [1] |
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | Florida State University University of North Carolina |
Occupation | Professor of Chemistry |
Known for | Holton Taxol total synthesis |
Robert A. Holton (born 1944) is an American academic chemist who is known for his work regarding the chemical synthesis for Taxol (known as the Holton Taxol total synthesis), a widely utilized anti-cancer drug. He is a professor of chemistry at Florida State University.
Holton’s research group has accomplished the total synthesis of several natural products. Most notable are prostaglandin F2α, narwedine, aphidicolin, taxusin, Taxol and hemibrevetoxin B.
Holton is Chief Scientific Officer, a director and co-founder of Taxolog, Inc, and president and founder of MDS Research Foundation and Syncure, Inc.
Paclitaxel, sold under the brand name Taxol among others, is a chemotherapy medication used to treat ovarian cancer, esophageal cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, Kaposi's sarcoma, cervical cancer, and pancreatic cancer. It is administered by intravenous injection. There is also an albumin-bound formulation.
Florida State University is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the state. Chartered in 1851, it is located on Florida's oldest continuous site of higher education.
Total synthesis, a specialized area within organic chemistry, focuses on constructing complex organic compounds, especially those found in nature, using laboratory methods. It often involves synthesizing natural products from basic, commercially available starting materials. Total synthesis targets can also be organometallic or inorganic. While total synthesis aims for complete construction from simple starting materials, modifying or partially synthesizing these compounds is known as semisynthesis.
Organic synthesis is a branch of chemical synthesis concerned with the construction of organic compounds. Organic compounds are molecules consisting of combinations of covalently-linked hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen atoms. Within the general subject of organic synthesis, there are many different types of synthetic routes that can be completed including total synthesis, stereoselective synthesis, automated synthesis, and many more. Additionally, in understanding organic synthesis it is necessary to be familiar with the methodology, techniques, and applications of the subject.
Kyriacos Costa Nicolaou is a Cypriot-American chemist known for his research in the area of natural products total synthesis. He is currently Harry C. and Olga K. Wiess Professor of Chemistry at Rice University, having previously held academic positions at The Scripps Research Institute/UC San Diego and the University of Pennsylvania.
The Nicolaou Taxol total synthesis, published by K. C. Nicolaou and his group in 1994 concerns the total synthesis of taxol. Taxol is an important drug in the treatment of cancer but also expensive because the compound is harvested from a scarce resource, namely the pacific yew.
The Johnson–Corey–Chaykovsky reaction is a chemical reaction used in organic chemistry for the synthesis of epoxides, aziridines, and cyclopropanes. It was discovered in 1961 by A. William Johnson and developed significantly by E. J. Corey and Michael Chaykovsky. The reaction involves addition of a sulfur ylide to a ketone, aldehyde, imine, or enone to produce the corresponding 3-membered ring. The reaction is diastereoselective favoring trans substitution in the product regardless of the initial stereochemistry. The synthesis of epoxides via this method serves as an important retrosynthetic alternative to the traditional epoxidation reactions of olefins.
The Danishefsky Taxol total synthesis in organic chemistry is an important third Taxol synthesis published by the group of Samuel Danishefsky in 1996 two years after the first two efforts described in the Holton Taxol total synthesis and the Nicolaou Taxol total synthesis. Combined they provide a good insight in the application of organic chemistry in total synthesis.
The Holton Taxol total synthesis, published by Robert A. Holton and his group at Florida State University in 1994, was the first total synthesis of Taxol.
In organic chemistry, acyloins or α-hydroxy ketones are a class of organic compounds of the general form R−C(O)CH(OH)−R', composed of a hydroxy group adjacent to a ketone group. The name acyloin is derived from the fact that they are formally derived from reductive coupling of carboxylic acyl groups. They are one of the two main classes of hydroxy ketones, distinguished by the position of the hydroxy group relative to the ketone; in this form, the hydroxy is on the alpha carbon, explaining the secondary name of α-hydroxy ketone.
The Chan rearrangement is a chemical reaction that involves rearranging an acyloxy acetate (1) in the presence of a strong base to a 2-hydroxy-3-keto-ester (2).
Paclitaxel total synthesis in organic chemistry is a major ongoing research effort in the total synthesis of paclitaxel (Taxol). This diterpenoid is an important drug in the treatment of cancer but, also expensive because the compound is harvested from a scarce resource, namely the Pacific yew. Not only is the synthetic reproduction of the compound itself of great commercial and scientific importance, but it also opens the way to paclitaxel derivatives not found in nature but with greater potential.
Wender Taxol total synthesis in organic chemistry describes a Taxol total synthesis by the group of Paul Wender at Stanford University published in 1997. This synthesis has much in common with the Holton Taxol total synthesis in that it is a linear synthesis starting from a naturally occurring compound with ring construction in the order A,B,C,D. The Wender effort is shorter by approximately 10 steps.
The Kuwajima Taxol total synthesis by the group of Isao Kuwajima of the Tokyo Institute of Technology is one of several efforts in taxol total synthesis published in the 1990s. The total synthesis of Taxol is considered a landmark in organic synthesis.
The College of Arts and Sciences is the largest of the 17 colleges at Florida State University.
Samuel J. Danishefsky is an American chemist working as a professor at both Columbia University and the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.
The Mukaiyama taxol total synthesis published by the group of Teruaki Mukaiyama of the Tokyo University of Science between 1997 and 1999 was the 6th successful taxol total synthesis. The total synthesis of Taxol is considered a hallmark in organic synthesis.
An oxaziridine is an organic molecule that features a three-membered heterocycle containing oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon. In their largest application, oxaziridines are intermediates in the industrial production of hydrazine. Oxaziridine derivatives are also used as specialized reagents in organic chemistry for a variety of oxidations, including alpha hydroxylation of enolates, epoxidation and aziridination of olefins, and other heteroatom transfer reactions. Oxaziridines also serve as precursors to nitrones and participate in [3+2] cycloadditions with various heterocumulenes to form substituted five-membered heterocycles. Chiral oxaziridine derivatives effect asymmetric oxygen transfer to prochiral enolates as well as other substrates. Some oxaziridines also have the property of a high barrier to inversion of the nitrogen, allowing for the possibility of chirality at the nitrogen center.
Paul AnthonyWender is an American chemist whose work is focused on organic chemistry, organometallic chemistry, synthesis, catalysis, chemical biology, imaging, drug delivery, and molecular therapeutics. He is currently the Francis W. Bergstrom Professor of Chemistry at Stanford University and is an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Teruaki Mukaiyama was a Japanese organic chemist. One of the most prolific chemists of the 20th century in the field of organic synthesis, Mukaiyama helped establish the field of organic chemistry in Japan after World War II.