Richard C. Larock

was born on November 16, 1944 in Berkeley, California, USA, and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. He studied chemistry at the University of California at Davis, receiving his B.S. degree in 1967 and an Outstanding Achievement Award in Chemistry from U.C. Davis. During his studies, he participated in the University of California Education Abroad Program at Georg-August-University in Göttingen, Germany. He obtained his Ph.D. in 1972, working with Nobel Laureate H. C. Brown at Purdue University, West Lafayette, USA, on the mercuration of organoboranes. After a postdoctoral stay in 1972 at Harvard University with Nobel Laureate E. J. Corey, he joined the organic faculty at Iowa State University, Ames, USA. From 1974–1978 he was assistant professor, then from 1978–1985 associate professor, and from 1985–1999 full professor. Since 1999 he has been university professor at Iowa State University. Professor Larock was a visiting professor at the University of Hawaii in 1985. His early work on new applications of organomercurials in organic synthesis earned him an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellowship (1977–1979) and a DuPont Young Faculty Scholarship (1975–1976) and culminated in the publication of two books in the area: Organo-mercury Compounds in Organic Synthesis (Springer, Berlin, 1985) and Solvomercuration/Demercuration Reactions in Organic Synthesis (Springer, Berlin, 1986). For his subsequent work he has received the Merck Academic Development Award twice (1997 and 1998) and the Iowa Regents Faculty Excellence Award (1998). Thirty-three patents have been issued to him, and he is also the author of two editions of Comprehensive Organic Transformations: A Guide to Functional Group Preparations (Wiley-VCH, New York, 1999).

Scientific Sketch

The Larock research group is involved in or-ganometallic synthesis of carbo- and heterocycles and in the synthesis of industrially useful oils, plastics, and biodegradable polymers from natural, inexpensive, and biorenewable sources. Recently he has been involved in palladium(II)-catalyzed cyclizations and oxidations and the palladium(0)-catalyzed annulation of alkenes, dienes, and alkynes. These reactions have been employed by his research group to prepare in-doles, benzofurans, benzopyrans, isocoumarins, indenones, isoquinolines, α-pyrones, and aromatic hydrocarbons (Fig. 1, Org. Lett. 1999, 1, 155 1; J. Org. Chem. 2001, 66, 412; Org. Lett. 1999, 1, 553; J. Org. Chem. 2001, 66, 8042). To demonstrate the versatility of this annulation methodology, Larock applied this coup-ling/cyclization process to the synthesis of the isoquinoline alkaloid decumbenine B (Fig. 2), which was isolated from the tubers of Corydalis decumbens, used in Chinese folk herbal medicine for the treatment of paralytic stroke and rheumatic arthritis.

Larock also develops procedures for the preparation of biodegradable industrial polymers, elastomers, and rubbers from soybean, fish, and other natural oils. The advantages of these polymers are their low cost, ready availability from renewable natural sources, and their possible biodegradability (J. Polym. Sci. Part B: Polymer Physics 2000, 38, 272 1; J. Polym. Sci. Part B: Polymer Physics 2001, 39, 60). The polymeric materials are prepared through cationic copoly-merization of the natural oils with divinylben-zene and styrene initiated by boron trifluoride diethyl etherate or related modified initiators. These new materials could serve as replacements for petroleum-based polymers in numerous applications.

Figure 1. Synthesis of heterocycles via palladium-catalyzed annulation.

Figure 2. Synthesis of decumbenine B.

Chili Crock Pot

Starting materials (serves 2-

2 cloves garlic, minced

1–2 onions, minced

425 g ground turkey

1 large can plus 1 regular can tomatoes

1 375-g can of red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 can beef broth

1 150-g can tomato paste

1–2 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp sweet basil

Sauté the garlic and onions in oil. Add the meat and brown it. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer the chili for one hour in a large kettle or cook it all day on low heat in a crock pot. Enjoy!

«I remember fondly my days long ago as an international student at the Georg-August-University of Göttingen. Above is a recipe for chili. It is easy to make and delicious on a cold winter night in Iowa or Germany! You can let it cook all day in a crock pot, while in the lab, and it is ready to eat as soon as you get home.»

Richard C. Larock