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The Synthesis Of Heterocycles And Carbocycles And Work Towards Kainic Acid, Mathew L. Piotrowski

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis focuses on the synthesis of a variety of heterocycles and carbocycles such as pyrrolidines, dihydrofurans, dihydropyrroles, cyclopentenes, and 2,5-dihydrooxepines. Traditional synthetic methods are discussed first, followed by the manipulation of donor-acceptor cyclopropanes towards the above-mentioned compounds. This leads to a discussion about an important pyrrolidine-containing natural product known as kainic acid. Kainic acid has been studied in the neuroscience field for its biological properties which have led to a better understanding of common human neurological disorders like epilepsy, Huntington’s disease and the after-effects of strokes.

Chapter two focuses on a common rearrangement of donor-acceptor cyclopropanes known as the …