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G. Davon Kennedy Associate Professor, Organic Chemistry Ph.D., Emory University, (1983) Dr. G. Kennedy Department of Chemistry Georgia State University P.O. Box 4098 Atlanta, Georgia 30302-4098
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Our laboratory is interested in the synthesis of
heterocyclic compounds as well as general synthetic methods. We
have been very active in the area of cyclopropane synthesis. We
have developed a method for preparing highly substituted
cyclopropanes via a non-carbene approach. This allows the
preparation of a variety of cyclopropanes with control of the
substituents around the ring. From this work, we are looking at
ways to utilize these cyclopropanes in expansion reactions and
in alkene trapping reactions as a method for obtaining larger
ring systems with varied substitution patterns.
We make our highly substituted cyclopropanes by thermolysis of
substituted pyrazolines. Therefore, we have developed some
novel approaches to preparing pyrazolines which should not be
ignored. We are also exploring ways to directly utilize these
pyrazolines as a synthetic intermediate for the preparation of
larger ring systems and other useful heterocycles.
In addition to our synthetic methods work, we are actively
involved in the synthesis of novel heterocyclic compounds. The
main focus of our work in this area is to prepare compounds as
potential anti-HIV agents. Our strategy has been to start with
known nucleic acid binding agents and modify them in ways we
feel will make them more active as antiviral agents. We have
prepared a variety of heterocyclic systems that have been
screened as anti-HIV agents. This approach has lead to the
development of some compounds we hope will be useful antiviral
agents.
Representative Publications
Vasquez,P.C., Bennett,D.C., Towns,K.K., Kennedy,G.D., and Baumstark,A.L. (2000). Thermolysis of hexasubstituted-4,5-dihydro-3H-pyrazoles: Kinetics and activation parameters. Heteroatom Chemistry, 11, 299-302.
Hearn, J., Rigl, C.T., Kumar, A., Kennedy, G.D., Boykin, D.W., and Wilson, W.D. (1996). Design and Evaluation of Organic Dications and Tetracations that Inhibit HIV-1 TAR/Tat Interaction: Thermal Melting and Gel Shift Studies. Abstracts Of Papers Of The American Chemical Society 212, 142.
Kennedy, G. D., Krishnan, G., Karim, M., and Harden, D. (1996). Preparation and Nucleic-Acid Binding of Ellipticine Derivatives. Heterocyclic Communications, 2, 125-128.
Wang, X.H., Donovalova, J., Hollis, A., Johnson, D., Rodriguez, A., Kennedy, G.D., Krishnan, G., and Banks, H. (1994). Diels-Alder Reactivity of Vinylsulfoxyallenes. Journal Of Heterocyclic Chemistry, 31, 871-876. Padwa, A. and Kennedy, G.D. (1988). Dimerization and Cycloaddition Reactions of a Carbomethoxy Substituted Cyclopropene, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 105, 137.
Kennedy, G.D., Baumstark, A.L., Dotrong, M., Thomas, T., and Narayanan N. (1991). Thermolysis of Hexasubstituted-4,5-dihydro-3H-pyrazoles: Synthesis of 1-Alkoxy- and 1-Acetoxy-1,2,2,3,3-pentasubstituted cyclopropanes. J. Heterocyclic Chem., 28, 1773.
Padwa, A., and Kennedy, G.D. (1988). Dimerization and Cycloaddition Reactions of a Carbomethoxy Substituted Cyclopropene, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 105, 137.