Date of Award
5-2026
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Honors Thesis
Department
Chemistry
First Advisor
Carl DeAmicis
Second Advisor
Geoffrey Hoops
Abstract
Cyrene is a cellulose-derived molecule that has gained interest in green chemistry as both a solvent and precursor for pharmaceutical intermediates. In this study, biocatalytic and chemical strategies were evaluated for converting Cyrene into these intermediates. Cyrene was carried through variations of a five-step sequence: reduction, reductive amination, esterification, tosylate salt formation, and Lewis-acid mediated acetal opening to generate ring-opened pyranose products (“deoxy sugars” and “deoxy amino sugars”). We successfully synthesized deoxy sugar intermediates; however, the production of stereochemically pure deoxy amino sugar intermediates was limited by unresolved diastereomeric mixtures. These findings highlight the promise of Cyrene as a renewable feedstock and establish a framework for more stereoselective routes of its pharmaceutical synthesis.
Recommended Citation
Rabindran, Anjali Mae, "Applications of Cyrene for Pharmaceutical Synthesis" (2026). Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection. 846.
https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/ugtheses/846