Highlighted Works:

Meanwell, M., et al. 'A Short de novo Synthesis of Nucleoside Analogs' Science, 2020

Davison, E., et al. 'Practical and Concise Synthesis of Nucleoside Analogs', Nat. Protoc., 2022

Muir, G., et al. 'Unmasking the halide effect in diastereoselective Grignard reactions applied to C4' modified nucleoside synthesis' Nature Communications, 2025

Lucas, C., et al. 'A flexible and scalable synthesis of 4′-thionucleosides' Chem. Sci., 2025

Huxley, C., et al. 'Rapid Synthesis and Diversification of Thymine-containing Bridged Nucleic AcidsThrough Cascade Cyclization Reactions' Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2025

Fluorination-aldol for rapid access of nucleoside analogues:

Nucleoside analogues are a rich source of anti-cancer and anti-viral therapeutics but unfortunately, methods to synthesize complex nucleoside analogues are arduous and lengthy. We recently demonstrated that utilizing an α-fluorination aldol reaction, we can access a wide array on nucleoside analogues with substitutions at different positions around the ribose ring, all in under 6 steps from the starting nucleobase. We are now looking to expand this methodology to include even more complex subtitutions, as well as carba-, thio-, and imino-, and locked-nucleosides.