New reaction facilitates drug discovery

Chemists at ETH Zurich have found a facile method that allows a commonly used building block to be directly converted into other types of important compounds. This expands the possibilities of chemical synthesis and facilitates the search for new pharmaceutically active ingredients. Medications are continuously becoming more precise and efficient. Take, for example, the new drugs that curb coronavirus replication at very specific points in the viral cycle. These days, finding active compounds that have such a specific effect in the body generally relies on testing extensive libraries of chemical compounds. Therefore, a crucial prerequisite for developing even more effective drugs in the future is based on expanding the existing libraries of active substances. Scientists from the Laboratory of Organic Chemistry at ETH Zurich have now developed a simple and robust method for converting the indole group, which commonly occurs in nature and medicines, into other important structural elements.