Reduction of a ketone using chiral polylactic acid as solid support

CHED 435

Virgina S Liu, virginia.liu@simmons.edu, Jennifer N. Boice, jennifer.boice@simmons.edu, Richard W. Gurney, richard.gurney@simmons.edu, and Nancy E. Lee, nancy.lee@simmons.edu. Department of Chemistry, Simmons College, 300 The Fenway, Boston, MA 02115
Polylactic acid (PLA) polymer, used in the manufacture of the cups by NatureWorks, is unique because unlike traditional plastics, it is compostable, biodegradable and produced from corn. In the past year, we have been able to partially digest PLA to synthesize a low-molecular weight polymer using only vinegar. The partially digested PLA represents a cheap source of chiral material. Currently, we are exploring the feasibility of performing asymmetric reduction of a ketone by sodium borohydride in the presence of the partially hydrolyzed PLA as a chiral solid-support and our results will be reported.
 

Undergraduate Research Poster Session: Organic Chemistry
11:00 AM-1:00 PM, Monday, April 7, 2008 Morial Convention Center -- Hall A, Poster

Division of Chemical Education

The 235th ACS National Meeting, New Orleans, LA, April 6-10, 2008