Chemical catalysts are divided into two traditional categories: homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts. Although homogeneous (molecular) catalysts tend to have high activity and selectivity, their wide application is hampered by the difficulties in catalyst separation. In contrast, the vast majority of industrial scale catalysts are heterogeneous catalysts based on solid materials. Immobilized catalysts, combining the advantages of homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts, have developed into an important field in catalysis research. This dissertation presents synthesis, characterization and evaluation of several novel immobilized catalysts. In the first part, MNP supported aluminum isoproxide was developed for ROP of Є-caprolactone to achieve facile magnetic separation of catalysts from polymerization system and reduce toxic metal residues in the poly(caprolactone) product. Chapter 3 presents a silica coated MNP supported DMAP catalyst that was synthesized and displayed good activity and regio-selectivity in epoxide ring opening reactions. In Chapter 4, hybrid sulfonic acid catalysts based on polymer brush materials have been developed. The unique polymer brush architecture permits high catalyst loadings as well as easy accessibility of the active sites to be achieved in this catalytic system. In Chapter 5, aminopolymer-silica composite supported Pd catalysts with good activity and selectivity were developed for the selective hydrogenation of alkynes. In this case, the aminopolymer composite works as a stabilizer for palladium nanoparticles, as well as a modifier to tune the catalyst selectivity. All in all, the general theme of the thesis is developing new immobilized catalysts with improved activity/selectivity as well as easy separation via rational catalyst design.

Résumé Cette thèse consiste en trois thèmes résumés dans les paragraphes ci-dessous. L’influence de différents groupements protecteurs du groupe hydroxyle lors des réactions d’ouverture des cis- et trans- 3-hydroxy-1,2-époxycycloalcanes a été étudiée. Il a été montré que Yb(OTf)3 constituait un catalyseur doux pour l’ouverture régiosélective de cycles afin d’obtenir les -anilino cycloalcanols correspondants avec de bons rendements. Le chauffage du milieu réactionnel dans le toluène comme solvant a permis d’augmenter la cinétique de la réaction, au dépend du rendement. La partie aniline a été régiosélectivement introduite en position vicinale du groupe hydroxyle ou éther afin d’obtenir un unique régioisomère. La même tendance a été observée avec les époxydes du 3-azidocyclohex-1-ène et du 3-carbamate correspondant. Le temps de réaction a été réduit lorsque Yb(OTf)3 a été dissous dans l’acétonitrile. Le triflate d’ytterbium (III) a également été utilisé comme catalyseur pour l’ouverture de cycle régiosélective d’aziridines non-activées sur des cyclohexanes portant des substituants azotures ou éthers de benzyle. L’ion azoture ou l’aniline forment les produits trans correspondants, donnant alors accès à des diamines vicinales avec de bons rendements. Un éther ω-alcoxy p-méthoxybenzylique racémique, inhibiteur de HDAC, a été ainsi préparé en huit étapes synthétiques (rendement total de 26%) à partir du 1-((tert-butyldiphénylsilyl)oxy)hept-6-èn-2-ol. Ceci représente un progrès par rapport à la précédente méthode (9 étapes, rendement total de 16%). La métathèse croisée se montre particulièrement efficace et pratique dans cette stratégie et l’alkylation par le trichloroacétimidate de p-méthoxybenzyle en présence de Sc(OTf)3 améliore le rendement global de la synthèse. Un aminoalcool présent dans la pactamycine et contenant le squelette carboné, les groupements fonctionnels et la stéréochimie requise a été synthétisé en 27 étapes à partir de la L-thréonine. La méthodologie décrite dans cette thèse permet la synthèse de cet intermédiaire clé à l’échelle multigramme. / Abstract Ring-opening reactions of epoxides and aziridines have been extensively studied. The influence of different protecting groups on the hydroxyl group in the ring-opening reactions of cis- and trans- 3-hydroxy-1,2-cycloalkane epoxides with aromatic amines was studied. It was shown that Yb(OTf)3 in toluene was a mild catalyst for regioselective ring-opening, to give -anilino cycloalkanols in good yields. Heating the reaction mixture accelerated the rate of the reaction, albeit at the expense of yield. The aniline moiety was regioselectively added at the carbon furthest from the hydroxyl or ether group to yield a single regioisomer. The same trend was also observed with 3-azidocyclohex-1-ene epoxides and the corresponding 3-carbamates. The reaction time became shorter when acetonitrile was used as solvent, possibly due to the homogeneous medium. Ytterbium(III) triflate has also been used as the catalyst for the regioselective ring-opening of unactivated aziridines in cyclohexanes having an azide or benzyl ether substituent. Azide ion or aniline forms the corresponding trans-products giving access to vicinal diamines in good yields. A racemic ω-alkoxy p-methoxy benzyl ether HDAC inhibitor has been prepared in 8 synthetic steps (26% overall yield) from 1-((tert-butyldiphenylsilyl)oxy)hept-6-en-2-ol. This is an improvement over the published method (9 steps, 16% overall yield). The cross-metathesis method proved to be efficient and practical in this strategy, and alkylation using p-methoxybenzyl trichloroacetimidate in the presence of Sc(OTf)3 improved the overall yield of the synthesis. An amino alcohol that contains all the core carbons, functional groups and the required stereochemistry present in pactamycin was obtained starting from L-threonine over 27 steps. The methodology described in this thesis allows for a synthesis of this key intermediate on a multigram scale.

Ce travail de thèse vise à comprendre les propriétés thermodynamiques et les mécanismes réactionnels engendrés dans les réactions de cycloaddition d'époxydes en milieu CO2 supercritique catalysées par des liquides ioniques pour la synthèse de carbonates cycliques. Les propriétés thermodynamiques (solubilité, gonflement, diagramme de phase) des mélanges binaires époxyde/CO2 ont été déterminées pour des époxydes modèles et des époxydes dérivées d'huiles végétales. Des suivis cinétiques in-situ par spectroscopie IR-TF et Raman ont été effectués pour déterminer l'influence de la nature des liquides ioniques étudiés et des paramètres température-pression sur les cinétiques de réaction. Des modélisations moléculaires de type DFT nous ont permis de proposer un mécanisme réactionnel en accord avec les résultats expérimentaux et de bien comprendre quels sont les rôles respectifs de l'anion et du cation du liquide ionique dans la réaction. / This thesis aims to understand the thermodynamic properties and reaction mechanisms generated in the cycloaddition reaction of epoxides in supercritical CO2 medium catalyzed by ionic liquids for the green synthesis of cyclic carbonates. Thermodynamic properties (solubility, swelling, phase diagram) of epoxide/CO2 binary mixtures were determined for commercial mono-epoxides and vegetable based epoxidized oils. Kinetics study in-situ by FTIR and Raman spectroscopy were performed to determine the influence of the nature of the ionic liquids studied and of different parameters such as temperature and pressure on the reaction. Molecular modeling using DFT method has helped us to propose a reaction mechanism consistent with the experimental results and to understand what are the respective roles of the anion and cation of the ionic liquid in the reaction.

Dans ce travail de thèse, des mélanges réactifs de polymères thermoplastiques immiscibles PMMA,PE et PS ont été réalisés dans un mélangeur (RMX®) qui génère principalement des écoulements élongationnels connus pour leurs pouvoirs distributifs et dispersifs même lorsque les composants ont une différence de viscosité importante. La polymérisation in-situ du styrène a été conduite par auto-polymérisation thermique et grâce à des amorceurs radicalaires. Différentes méthodes de préparations et paramètres de mélanges ont été testés puis évalués par l’analyse d’images de microscopie électronique. Les plus petits nodules de PS que nous avons obtenus ont un rayon moyen de l’ordre de 50 nm. Des mélanges binaires 90/10 à base de PS ou PE et d’un thermodur polyépoxyde (MDEA/DGEBA) ont également été réalisés. Les nodules sphériques les plus petits que nous avons obtenus ont un rayon moyen de l’ordre de 65 nm. / In this work, binary and ternary reactive blends based on immiscible thermoplastic polymers PMMA,PE and PS were realized. The in-situ polymerization of the styrene, precursor of PS, was led by thermal self-polymerization or still thanks to radical initiator. Blends were realized in a mixer named RMX who generates mainly extensional flows known for their distributive and dispersive skill even if components have an important viscosity difference. Various methods of preparation and parameters of mixtures were tested. Morphology was evaluated by the analysis of electronic microscopy images.The average radiuses of the dispersed PS phase were compared with those observed in the literature. The smallest that we obtained have an average radius of 50 nm. Binary mixtures 90/10 %m with PS or PE and with a thermodur polyepoxide (MDEA/DGEBA) were also realized. The smallest spherical nodules that we obtained have an average radius of the order of 65 nm.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-01-26T12:51:47Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 glauciamariamfernandes_dissert.pdf: 1922219 bytes, checksum: f00f507bdc9bcdc1daa422a7965c5c41 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-12-12 / Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo / Introduction: The xenobiotics are exogenous substances to the organism, as N-nitrosamines, heterocyclic amines (HAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), can which result in DNA adducts formation. Polymorphisms in genes involved in the metabolism of xenobiotics could contribute to this process and modulate the development of cancer. Objectives: To investigate the CYP1A1*2A (rs4646903), CYP1A1*2C (rs1048943), CYP2E1*5B (rs2031920), CYP1E1*6 (rs6413432), Tyr113His EPHX1 (rs1051740) and His139Arg EPHX1 (rs2234922) polymorphisms related to the metabolism of xenobiotics, the risk of sporadic colorectal (SCRC) cancer, the interaction of these polymorphisms with lifestyle (smoking and drinking) and clinical and histopathological parameters and to evaluate the association of SCRC with socio-demographic factors. Methods: A case-control study was conducted in 641 subjects in the Brazilian population (241 patients with colorectal cancer and 400 controls (individuals without a history of cancer). Real-Time PCR and PCR-RFLP was performed for genotyping. Statistical analysis was performed using the chi-square tet and multiple logistic regression binary. Results: The results showed statistically significant differences between the case and control groups for age greater than 50 years (OR=8.21, 95%CI=5.49-12.28, p<0.01) and male gender (OR=0.50, 95%CI=0.32-0.87, p<0.01) The analysis of polymorphisms revealed an association between the alleles polymorphic CYP2E1*5B (OR=2.84, 95%CI=1.78-4.52, p<0.01, additive model) and CYP2E1*6 (OR=2.78, 95%CI=1.91-4.06, p<0.01, additive model) and the SCRC. Tumor size, lymph node involvement and disease primary site were not associated with polymorphisms. Conclusion: The CYP2E1*5B and CYP2E1*6 polymorphisms are involved in the risk of SCRC and individuals with age &#8805; 50 years are more susceptible to this tumor type, of males are less susceptible. / Introducão: Os xenobióticos são substâncias exógenas ao organismo, tais como as N-nitrosaminas, aminas heterocíclicas (HAs) e hidrocarbonetos policíclicos aromáticos (HPAs), que podem formar adutos de DNA. Polimorfismos em genes envolvidos no metabolismo dos xenobióticos podem contribuir com este processo e, consequentemente, modular o desenvolvimento de câncer. Objetivos: Investigar os polimorfismos CYP1A1*2A (rs 4646903), CYP1A1*2C (rs1048943), CYP2E1*5B (rs 2031920), CYP1E1*6 (rs 6413432), EPHX1 Tyr113His (rs1051740) e EPHX1 His139Arg (rs2234922), relacionados com o metabolismo dos xenobióticos, no risco de câncer de colorretal esporádico (CCRE), a interação desses polimorfismos com os hábitos de vida (tabagismo e etilismo) e parâmetros clínico-histopatológicos e avaliar a associação do CCRE com os fatores sócio-demográficos. Os Métodos: Um estudo caso-controle foi realizado em 641 indivíduos da população brasileira (241 pacientes com câncer de coloretal e 400 controles (indivíduos sem histórico de câncer). As técnicas de PCR em Tempo Real e PCR-RFLP foram realizadas para a genotipagem dos polimorfismos. A análise estatística utilizou os testes de Qui-Quadrado e Regressão Logística Múltipla Binária. Resultados: Os resultados mostraram diferenças estatisticamente significantes entre os grupos caso e controle para idade superior a 50 anos (OR=8,21; IC95%=5,49-12,28, p<0,01) e gênero masculino (OR=0,50; IC95%=0,32-0,87, p<0,01). A análise dos polimorfismos revelou associação entre os alelos polimórficos CYP2E1*5B (OR=2,84; IC95%=1,78-4,52; p<0,01, modelo aditivo) e CYP2E1*6 (OR=2,78; IC95%=1,91-4,06, p<0,01, modelo aditivo) e o CCRE. O tamanho do tumor, envolvimento de linfonodos e sítio primário da doença não foram associados com os polimorfismos. Conclusão: Os polimorfismos CYP2E1*5B e CYP2E1*6 estão envolvidos no risco de CCRE e indivíduos com idade superior ou igual a 50 anos são mais suscetíveis a este tipo tumoral, enquanto aqueles do gênero masculino são menos suscetíveis.

Human African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) is a devastating disease which is endemic in parts of sub-Saharan Africa. It is caused by the protozoan parasite T. brucei, which are transmitted by the bite of infected tsetse flies. Although the disease is fatal if left untreated, there is a lack of safe, effective and affordable drugs available; therefore new drugs are urgently needed. The aim of the work presented in this thesis is to develop novel trypanocidal compounds. It is divided into two parts to reflect the two distinct strategies employed to achieve this aim. The first part focuses on the inhibition of glycophosphoinositol (GPI) anchor synthesis by inhibiting the Zn2+-dependent enzyme, GlcNAc-PI de-N-acetylase. Trypanosomes have a variable surface glycoprotein (VSG) coat, which allows them to evade the human immune system. The GPI anchor attaches the VSG to the cell membrane; therefore inhibiting GPI synthesis should expose the parasite to the immune system. Initially, large substrate analogues were synthesized. These showed weak inhibition of the enzyme. Zinc-binding fragments were screened, and small molecule inhibitors based on salicylhydroxamic acid were then synthesized. These compounds showed modest inhibition, but the excellent ligand efficiency of salicylhydroxamic acid indicates this may be a promising starting point for further inhibitors. The second part details the P2 strategy. The P2 transporter is a nucleoside transporter unique to T. brucei, which concentrates adenosine. The transporter also binds and selectively concentrates compounds that contain benzamidine and diaminotriazine P2 motifs, which can enhance the potency and selectivity of these compounds. The sleeping sickness drugs melarsoprol and pentamidine contain P2 motifs. Compounds comprising a P2 targeting motif, a linker and a trypanocidal moiety were synthesized. Initially, a diaminotriazine P2 motif was attached to a trypanocidal tetrahydroquinoline (THQ) protein farnesyl transferase (PFT) inhibitor, with limited success. The P2 strategy was also applied to a non-selective, trypanocidal, quinol moiety. The quinol moiety was attached to diaminotriazine and benzamidine P2 motifs, and an increase in selectivity for T. brucei over MRC5 cells was observed.

<p>Epoxides are three-membered cyclic ethers formed in the metabolism of foreign substances and as endogenous metabolites. Epoxide hydrolases (EHs) are enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of epoxides to yield the corresponding diols. EHs have been implicated in diverse functions such as detoxification of various toxic epoxides, as well as regulation of signal substance levels.</p><p>The main goal of this thesis was to investigate and characterize the α/β hydrolase fold EH. The first part concerns the identifictaion of an EH in <i>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</i>. The second part involves detailed mechanistic and structural studies of a plant EH from potato, StEH1. </p><p>Despite the important function of EH, no EH has previously been established in <i>S. cerevisiae</i>. By sequence analysis, we have identified a new subclass of EH present in yeast and in a wide range of microorganisms. The <i>S. cerevisiae</i> protein was produced recombinantly and was shown to display low catalytic activity with tested epoxide substrates. </p><p>In plants, EHs are involved in the general defence system, both in the metabolism of the cutin layer and in stress response to pathogens. The catalytic mechanism of recombinantly expressed wild type and mutant potato EH were investigated in detail using the two enantiomers of <i>trans</i>-stilbene oxide (TSO). The proposed catalytic residues of StEH1 were confirmed. StEH1 is slightly enantioselective for the <i>S,S</i>-enantiomer of<i> trans</i>-stilbene oxide. Furthermore, distinct pH dependence of the two enantiomers probably reflects differences in the microscopic rate constants of the substrates. The detailed function of the two catalytic tyrosines was also studied. The behavior of the tyrosine pair resembles that of a bidentate Lewis acid and we conclude that these tyrosines function as Lewis acids rather then proton donors.</p><p>The three dimensional structure of StEH1 was solved, representing the first structure of a plant EH. The structure provided information about the substrate specificity of StEH1.</p>

Les carbapénèmes occupent actuellement une place centrale dans la lutte contre les bactéries résistantes aux antibiotiques classiques de type pénicilline. Notre thèse a pour objectif de développer une synthèse de leurs intermédiaires dans l'optique d'une application à l'échelle industrielle. Nous avons exploité, comme stratégie de fermeture de l'hétérocycle, la formation du lien C-3/C-4 par attaque nucléophile intramoléculaire sur un époxyde. Celui-ci est obtenu à partir de la L thréonine qui fournit deux stéréocentres et permet d'induire le troisième carbone asymétrique. Nous avons utilisé le groupe benzhydryle comme groupe protecteur, nouveau dans cette chimie, pour remplacer le groupe para-anisyle habituel qui pose des problèmes industriels. Ce nouveau groupe change fortement la réactivité de l'époxyamide impliquant une optimisation délicate des conditions et un choix judicieux des substituants. De plus, une nouvelle méthode de déprotection par bromation photochimique a été mise au point, complètement compatible avec la fragilité du cycle beta-lactame. Enfin, pour générer le groupe partant en C-4, nous avons utilisé une oxydation de Baeyer-Villiger. La régiosélectivité de cette étape dépend fortement des substituants et apparaît contradictoire avec les exigences de la fermeture de cycle. L'étude de l'influence des substituants sur ces deux étapes nous a permis de sélectionner le substituant optimal. Dans la seconde partie de cette thèse, nous nous intéressons à l'introduction du 4e centre asymétrique caractéristique des carbapénèmes. Nous avons étudié la possibilité de l'effectuer avec des dérivés de l'acide de Meldrum pour substituer la position C-4 de l'intermédiaire-clef, suivi d'une décarboxylation asymétrique. Nous clôturons ce travail par une évaluation économique de notre synthèse d'un précurseur équivalent à l'acétoxyazétidinone. /Carbapenems occupy a central role in the fight against bacteria that are resistant to classical antibiotics such as penicillins. Our thesis has the aim to develop a synthesis of their principal intermediates with the objective to apply it at the industrial scale. We have explored, as strategy of the heterocycle closing, the formation of the C-3/C-4 bond by a nucleophilic attack on an epoxide. This one was obtained from L-threonine which brings two stereocenters and allows the induction for the creation of the third asymmetric carbon. We used the benzhydryl group as protecting group, new in this chemistry, to replace the usual para-anisyl group which causes industrial problems. This new group strongly affects the reactivity of the epoxyamide imposing a fine optimization of the conditions and an adequat choice of substituents. Furthermore, a new deprotection method by photochemical bromination was developed, entirely compatible with the fragility of the beta-lactam ring. Finally, to create the leaving group in C-4, we used a Baeyer-Villiger oxidation. Regiochemistry of this step strongly depends on substituents and appears contradictory with the requirements of the ring closing. The study of the influence of the substituents on these two steps permits us to choose the optimal substituent. In a second part of the work, we were interested in the introduction of the fourth asymmetric center of carbapenems. We studied the feasibility to perform it with Meldrum's acid derivatives by substituting the C-4 position of the key-intermediate, followed by an asymmetric decarboxylation. We ended this work by an economic evaluation of the synthesis of our precursor similar to acetoxyazetidinone.

Epoxides are three-membered cyclic ethers formed in the metabolism of foreign substances and as endogenous metabolites. Epoxide hydrolases (EHs) are enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of epoxides to yield the corresponding diols. EHs have been implicated in diverse functions such as detoxification of various toxic epoxides, as well as regulation of signal substance levels. The main goal of this thesis was to investigate and characterize the α/β hydrolase fold EH. The first part concerns the identifictaion of an EH in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The second part involves detailed mechanistic and structural studies of a plant EH from potato, StEH1. Despite the important function of EH, no EH has previously been established in S. cerevisiae. By sequence analysis, we have identified a new subclass of EH present in yeast and in a wide range of microorganisms. The S. cerevisiae protein was produced recombinantly and was shown to display low catalytic activity with tested epoxide substrates. In plants, EHs are involved in the general defence system, both in the metabolism of the cutin layer and in stress response to pathogens. The catalytic mechanism of recombinantly expressed wild type and mutant potato EH were investigated in detail using the two enantiomers of trans-stilbene oxide (TSO). The proposed catalytic residues of StEH1 were confirmed. StEH1 is slightly enantioselective for the S,S-enantiomer of trans-stilbene oxide. Furthermore, distinct pH dependence of the two enantiomers probably reflects differences in the microscopic rate constants of the substrates. The detailed function of the two catalytic tyrosines was also studied. The behavior of the tyrosine pair resembles that of a bidentate Lewis acid and we conclude that these tyrosines function as Lewis acids rather then proton donors. The three dimensional structure of StEH1 was solved, representing the first structure of a plant EH. The structure provided information about the substrate specificity of StEH1.

Résumé Cette thèse consiste en trois thèmes résumés dans les paragraphes ci-dessous. L’influence de différents groupements protecteurs du groupe hydroxyle lors des réactions d’ouverture des cis- et trans- 3-hydroxy-1,2-époxycycloalcanes a été étudiée. Il a été montré que Yb(OTf)3 constituait un catalyseur doux pour l’ouverture régiosélective de cycles afin d’obtenir les -anilino cycloalcanols correspondants avec de bons rendements. Le chauffage du milieu réactionnel dans le toluène comme solvant a permis d’augmenter la cinétique de la réaction, au dépend du rendement. La partie aniline a été régiosélectivement introduite en position vicinale du groupe hydroxyle ou éther afin d’obtenir un unique régioisomère. La même tendance a été observée avec les époxydes du 3-azidocyclohex-1-ène et du 3-carbamate correspondant. Le temps de réaction a été réduit lorsque Yb(OTf)3 a été dissous dans l’acétonitrile. Le triflate d’ytterbium (III) a également été utilisé comme catalyseur pour l’ouverture de cycle régiosélective d’aziridines non-activées sur des cyclohexanes portant des substituants azotures ou éthers de benzyle. L’ion azoture ou l’aniline forment les produits trans correspondants, donnant alors accès à des diamines vicinales avec de bons rendements. Un éther ω-alcoxy p-méthoxybenzylique racémique, inhibiteur de HDAC, a été ainsi préparé en huit étapes synthétiques (rendement total de 26%) à partir du 1-((tert-butyldiphénylsilyl)oxy)hept-6-èn-2-ol. Ceci représente un progrès par rapport à la précédente méthode (9 étapes, rendement total de 16%). La métathèse croisée se montre particulièrement efficace et pratique dans cette stratégie et l’alkylation par le trichloroacétimidate de p-méthoxybenzyle en présence de Sc(OTf)3 améliore le rendement global de la synthèse. Un aminoalcool présent dans la pactamycine et contenant le squelette carboné, les groupements fonctionnels et la stéréochimie requise a été synthétisé en 27 étapes à partir de la L-thréonine. La méthodologie décrite dans cette thèse permet la synthèse de cet intermédiaire clé à l’échelle multigramme. / Abstract Ring-opening reactions of epoxides and aziridines have been extensively studied. The influence of different protecting groups on the hydroxyl group in the ring-opening reactions of cis- and trans- 3-hydroxy-1,2-cycloalkane epoxides with aromatic amines was studied. It was shown that Yb(OTf)3 in toluene was a mild catalyst for regioselective ring-opening, to give -anilino cycloalkanols in good yields. Heating the reaction mixture accelerated the rate of the reaction, albeit at the expense of yield. The aniline moiety was regioselectively added at the carbon furthest from the hydroxyl or ether group to yield a single regioisomer. The same trend was also observed with 3-azidocyclohex-1-ene epoxides and the corresponding 3-carbamates. The reaction time became shorter when acetonitrile was used as solvent, possibly due to the homogeneous medium. Ytterbium(III) triflate has also been used as the catalyst for the regioselective ring-opening of unactivated aziridines in cyclohexanes having an azide or benzyl ether substituent. Azide ion or aniline forms the corresponding trans-products giving access to vicinal diamines in good yields. A racemic ω-alkoxy p-methoxy benzyl ether HDAC inhibitor has been prepared in 8 synthetic steps (26% overall yield) from 1-((tert-butyldiphenylsilyl)oxy)hept-6-en-2-ol. This is an improvement over the published method (9 steps, 16% overall yield). The cross-metathesis method proved to be efficient and practical in this strategy, and alkylation using p-methoxybenzyl trichloroacetimidate in the presence of Sc(OTf)3 improved the overall yield of the synthesis. An amino alcohol that contains all the core carbons, functional groups and the required stereochemistry present in pactamycin was obtained starting from L-threonine over 27 steps. The methodology described in this thesis allows for a synthesis of this key intermediate on a multigram scale.