Elias James Corey
| Elias Corey | |
|---|---|
| Born | 12 July 1928 Methuen, Massachusetts, USA |
| Nationality | United States |
| Fields | Organic chemistry |
| Institutions | Harvard University |
| Alma mater | MIT |
| Known for | Retrosynthetic analysis |
| Notable awards | The Franklin Medal (1978) Wolf Prize in Chemistry (1986) Japan Prize (1989) Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1990) Priestley Medal (2004) |
Elias James Corey (born July 12, 1928) is an American organic chemist. In 1990 he won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for his development of the theory and methodology of organic synthesis", specifically retrosynthetic analysis.[1][2] Regarded by many as one of the greatest living chemists, he has developed numerous synthetic reagents, methodologies, and has advanced the science of organic synthesis considerably.
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Biography
He was born to Lebanese immigrants in Methuen, Massachusetts, 50 km (30 miles) north of Boston. His mother changed his name to "Elias" to honor his father who died eighteen months after the birth of his son. His widowed mother, brother, two sisters and an aunt and uncle all lived together in a spacious house—struggling through the depression. He attended Catholic elementary school and Lawrence Public High School. And went on to MIT and got a PHD. Later he traveled out of [1]
At MIT, he earned both a bachelor's degree in 1948 and a Ph.D. in 1951. Both degrees were in chemistry. Immediately thereafter, he joined the faculty of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In 1959, he moved to Harvard University, where he is currently an emeritus professor of organic chemistry. In 1988, he was awarded the National Medal of Science.[3] He was awarded the American Chemical Society's greatest honor, the Priestley Medal, in 2004. He was 28 when he became a professor. Today he is married to Claire Corey. They had three children, David, John, and Susan and two granddaughters, Sara and Kate Corey.
Major contributions
Reagents
He has developed several new synthetic reagents:
- PCC (pyridinium chlorochromate), and PDC (pyridinium dichromate): widely used for the oxidation of alcohols to aldehydes.[4]
- t-Butyldimethylsilyl ether (TBDMS),[5] Triisopropylsilyl ether (TIPS), and Methoxyethoxymethyl (MEM): popular alcohol protecting groups.
- Boron-based heterocycles for the asymmetric catalysis of the Diels-Alder reaction [6] and reduction of ketones [7]
In addition, Corey commenced detailed studies on cationic polyolefin cyclizations utilized in enzymatic production of cholesterol from simpler plant terpenes.[8]
Methodology
Several reactions developed in the Corey's lab have become commonplace in modern synthetic organic chemistry. Several reactions have been named after him:
- Corey-Bakshi-Shibata reduction (CBS reduction): Asymmetric ketone reduction.
- Corey-Fuchs reaction
- Corey–Kim oxidation
- Corey-Winter olefin synthesis
- Corey-House-Posner-Whitesides reaction
- Johnson-Corey-Chaykovsky reaction
Total syntheses
E. J. Corey and his research group have completed many total syntheses. At least 265 molecules have been synthesized in the Corey Group since 1950. [9]
His 1969 total syntheses of several prostaglandins are considered classics.[10][11]
a) Corey, E. J.; Schaaf, T. K.; Huber,W.; Koelliker,V.;Weinshenker, N. M.; J. Amer. Chem. Soc. 1970, 92, 397. b) For a review see Axen, U.; Pike, J. E.; and Schneider, W. P.; in The Total Synthesis of Natural Products, Vol. 1, ApSimon, J. W., ed. Wiley, New York, 1973, 81.
Other notable syntheses:
- Longifolene[12][13]
- Ginkgolide A[14] and B[15][16]
- Lactacystin[17]
- Miroestrol[18]
- Ecteinascidin 743[19]
- Salinosporamide A[20]
Publications
E.J. Corey has more than 1000 publications. [21] In 2002, the American Chemical Society (ACS) recognized him as the “Most Cited Author in Chemistry”. In 2007, he received the first ACS Publications Division “Cycle of Excellence High Impact Contributor Award”. [22]
E.J. Corey’s books include:
- Elias James Corey, Xue-Min Cheng. The logic of chemical synthesis. Wiley-Interscience, 1995, ISBN 0-471-11594-0.
- E. J. Corey, Barbara Czako, Laszlo Kurti. Molecules and Medicine John Wiley & Sons, 2008.
- Name reactions in heterocyclic chemistry / edited by Jie-Jack Li ; scientific editor, E.J. Corey. Hoboken, N.J. : Wiley-Interscience, c2005.
- Name reactions for functional group transformations / edited by Jie Jack Li, E.J. Corey. Hoboken, N.J. : Wiley-Interscience, c2007.
Graduate student suicides
Between 1980 and 1998 there were eight graduate-student suicides at Harvard University, half of those were chemistry students, and three of those were suicides of students supervised by Prof. Corey.[23] Jason Altom's death caused controversy because he explicitly blamed Corey, his research advisor, for his suicide. Altom died by taking potassium cyanide in 1998, citing in his farewell note "abusive research supervisors" as one reason for taking his life. Altom's suicide note had been described as a "policy paper," because it contained explicit instructions on how to reform the relationship between students and their supervisors. [24]
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention cited the New York Times article on Altom's suicide as an example of problematic reporting, [25] and suggested that Corey was unfairly scapegoated. [26]
Corey Group Members
As of 2010, approximately 700 people have been Corey Group members. A database of 580 former members and their current affiliation was developed for Dr. Corey’s 80th birthday in July, 2008. [27]
Woodward-Hoffmann rules
Recently when awarded the Priestley Medal, E. J. Corey has controversially claimed to have inspired Robert Burns Woodward prior to the development of the Woodward-Hoffmann rules. This was rebutted by Roald Hoffmann in the journal Angewandte Chemie.[28]
References
- ↑ E. J. Corey, X-M. Cheng, The Logic of Chemical Synthesis, Wiley, New York, 1995, ISBN 0-471-11594-0.
- ↑ "The Logic of Chemical Synthesis: Multistep Synthesis of Complex Carbogenic Molecules (Nobel Lecture)" E.J. Corey, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 1991, 30, 455. (doi:10.1002/anie.199104553)
- ↑ National Science Foundation - The President's National Medal of Science
- ↑ Corey, E.J., and Suggs, W. 'Pyridinium Chlorochromate. An Efficient Reagent for Oxidation of Primary and Secondary Alcohols to Carbonyl Compounds', Tetrahedron Lett. 1975, 31, 2647-2650.
- ↑ Corey, E. J.; Venkateswarlu, A. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1972, 94, 6190-6191. (doi:10.1021/ja00772a043)
- ↑ Corey, E.J.; Loh, T-P.; Roper, T.D.; Azimioara, M.D.; Noe, M.C. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1992, 114, 8290.
- ↑ E. J. Corey, C. J. Helal, Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. Engl., 1998, 37, 1987
- ↑ Wendt, K.U.; Schulz, G.E.; Liu, D.R.; Corey, E.J. Angewandte Chemie International Edition in English, 2000, 39, 2812-2833.
- ↑ See the Syntheses tab"Compiled Works of Elias J. Corey". Laszlo Kurti and Jakub Svenda (webmasters). 2008-07-12. http://ejcorey.com/. Retrieved 2010-09-08.
- ↑ E. J. Corey, N. M. Weinshenker, T. K. Schaaf, W. Huber, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1969, 91, 5675-5677. (doi:10.1021/ja01048a062)
- ↑ K. C. Nicolaou, E. J. Sorensen, Classics in Total Synthesis, VCH, New York, 1996, ISBN 3-527-29231-4.
- ↑ Corey, E. J.; Ohno, M.; Vatakencherry, P. A.; Mitra, R. B. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1961, 83, 1251-1253. (doi:10.1021/ja01466a056)
- ↑ "Total Synthesis of Longifolene" Corey, E. J.; Ohno, M.; Mitra, R. B.; Vatakencherry, P. A. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1964, 86, 478-485. (doi:10.1021/ja01057a039)
- ↑ Corey, E. J.; Ghosh, A. K. Tetrahedron Lett. 1988, 29, 3205-3206.
- ↑ Corey, E. J.; Kang, M.; Desai, M. C.; Ghosh, A. K.; Houpis, I. N. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1988, 110, 649-651.
- ↑ Corey, E. J. Chem. Soc. Rev. 1988, 17, 111-133.
- ↑ "Total Synthesis of Lactacystin" Corey, E. J.; Reichard, G. A. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1992, 114, 10677.
- ↑ "Enantioselective Total Synthesis of Miroestrol" Corey, E. J.; Wu, L. I. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1993, 115, 9327.
- ↑ Corey, E. J.; Gin, D. Y.; Kania, R. S. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1996, 118, 9202-9203.
- ↑ Rajender Reddy Leleti.; Corey, E. J. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2004, 120, 6230-6232. ()
- ↑ See the Publications tab"Compiled Works of Elias J. Corey". Laszlo Kurti and Jakub Svenda (webmasters). 2008-07-12. http://ejcorey.com/. Retrieved 2010-09-08.
- ↑ Baum, Rudy (2007-08-21). "E.J. Corey: Chemist Extraordinaire". C&EN Meeting Weblog, 234th ACS National Meeting &Exposition, August 19-23, 2007, Boston, MA.. http://cenboston.wordpress.com/2007/08/21/ej-corey-chemist-extraordinaire/. Retrieved 2010-09-08.
- ↑ Schneider, Alison (1998). "Harvard Faces the Aftermath of a Graduate Student's Suicide". The Chronicle of Higher Education. http://chronicle.com/article/Harvard-Faces-the-Aftermath-of/6469/. Retrieved 2010-08-21.
- ↑ Hall, Stephen S. (1998-11-29). "Lethal Chemistry at Harvard". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D00E5DB1F30F93AA15752C1A96E958260.
- ↑ "For the Media: Examples of Good and Problematic Reporting, Scapegoating, New York Times Magazine: Lethal Chemistry at Harvard". American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). 2010. http://www.afsp.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.viewPage&page_id=7837B90F-C3D2-D5C5-6F1CBC3E73512E10. Retrieved 2010-08-21.
- ↑ The AFSP incorrectly identifies the author and date of the New York Times article as Keith B. Richburg and November 28, 1998. The author was Stephen S. Hall and the date of publication was November 29, 1998.H, H; M.A. (2010). "For the Media: Problematic Reporting, Scapegoating". American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). http://www.afsp.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.viewpage&page_id=92569BDA-A491-50C6-17ED3B1618AF3291. Retrieved 2010-08-21.
- ↑ See the Members' Data tab"Compiled Works of Elias J. Corey". Laszlo Kurti and Jakub Svenda (webmasters). 2008-07-12. http://ejcorey.com/. Retrieved 2010-08-20.
- ↑ R. Hoffmann Angew. Chem. 2004, 43, 6586-6590. (doi:10.1002/anie.200461440)
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