Compounds containing three-membered carbon rings occur widely in nature and show a variety of biochemical effects which control key functions in both animals and plants. Synthetic analogues continue to be of wide interest to the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. The reason for the particular importance of these compounds may lie in their unusual structures and inherent strain energy, and in their ability to release that strain on interaction with a biological receptor.

The groups in France, Germany and UK are extensively involved in the development of new methods for the synthesis of cyclopropanes, methylenecyclopropanes and cyclopropenes, and in the applications of these to routes to e.g., hypoglycaemic 2,3- and 3,4-methanoamino acids, fatty acid desaturase inhibitors (which are of potential application in the treatment of cancer, AIDS, heart disease and tuberculosis) and novel environmentally friendly methods of insect control. The NIS groups are leading experts in the fundamental chemistry of cyclopropenes and cyclopropanes and in the theoretical and experimental analysis of the factors controlling their reactivity.

The aim of this research will be to provide NIS groups with the possibility of applying their fundamental expertise to a wide range of synthetic methods and biologically significant compounds, and in particular to develop a model for predicting the rate and stereoselectivity of addition and cycloaddition reactions of cyclopropenes with a key target of producing optically pure cyclopropanes.

The programme will be effected primarily by supporting postdoctors and postgraduate students who will spend extended periods in a laboratory in western Europe, coupled with staff visits in both directions.