Research project Organofluorines: anthropogenic small-molecules for life sciences

Organofluorine compounds are very widely used in modern life-sciences. Over 20% of all pharmaceuticals and over 35% of agrochemical products contain at least one carbon-fluorine bond. Moreover, organofluorine compounds are indispensable in medical diagnostics, as fluorine-18 have beneficial nuclear properties for positron emission tomography (PET) respectively.

The research program targets important classes of fluorine-containing motifs in bioactive molecules, including chiral ones and fluorine-18 labelled compounds. The emphasis is on the development of new metal-catalyzed methods in combination with electrophilic fluorinating/fluoroalkylating reagents. The scientific impact includes delivering novel synthetic approaches to organofluorines applicable to the life sciences. In addition, the project will generate new knowledge on the underlying principles for specific properties and reactivity features of fluorine in organic and organometallic compounds.