The Creation of Personal Happiness

Happiness is something human beings strive to acquire but how to obtain this elusive feeling remains a longstanding and intriguing inquiry. One reason for this is that there is no one specific definition of happiness and no standard measurement for it. This project focuses on defining what is believed to affect happiness from an individual’s personal perspective and aims to shed light on the current research and understanding of how to define happiness and what common variables lead to happiness. To this aim, a structured literature review was conducted which led to the development of a mixed methods survey designed for a sample population of college students. This project presents an extensive literature review, the developed survey, and discusses the disruptive impact of the pandemic on the study. Suggestions for future research will be provided

Leveraging the 1,3-azadiene-anhydride reaction for the synthesis of functionalized piperidines bearing up to five contiguous stereocenters

A modular and scalable strategy, which remodels 3-methylglutaric anhydride to 2-oxopiperidines bearing at least three contiguous stereocenters is described. The approach relies on the chemoselective and stereocontrolled annulation of 1,3-azadienes with the anhydride component. The resulting acid-tethered allylic 2-oxopiperidines are then engaged in several selective fragment growth processes, including catalytic denitrative alkenylation, halolactonization, and Vilsmeier–Haack functionalization

Sustainable Synthesis Medicinally Important Large, Nitrogen-Containing Cyclic Compounds

Macrocycles are large, flexible cyclic molecules containing 11+ atoms. They are present in pharmaceuticals such as Rhazinilam (anticancer) and in naturally-derived molecules. However, their large size makes them fragile and difficult to create. Meanwhile, concerns about climate change have led to an outcry for green synthesis methods. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has articulated that the use of green chemistry techniques eliminated 826 million pounds of hazardous chemicals and solvents, saved 21 billion gallons of water, and eliminated 7.8 billion pounds of carbon dioxide equivalents released to air on an annual basis. In this embodiment, the synthesis of N-macrocycles will be explored in an environmentally friendly, selective, and cost-effective way. This will be achieved through the Castagnoli-Cushman reaction, which uses commodity chemicals such as amines, aldehydes, and cyclic anhydrides. A sustainable solvent such as 2-methyltetrahydrofuran (2- Me THF) will be utilized to create a diverse library of N-macrocycles. Solvent-free and microwave-assisted synthetic routes will be evaluated. Following completion of the project, the compounds will be sent to in-house collaborators for bioactivity and toxicity studies

Stereocontrolled Synthesis and Evaluation of Platelet Aggregation Inhibitory Activity of Highly Decorated Lactam Carboxamides

The most common causes of mortality worldwide are currently heart attacks and strokes. They result from significant clotting of blood in the arteries. This is commonly referred to as arterial thrombosis. The search for more selective antithrombotic agents therefore represents an important research objective. One lactam carboxamide (a cyclic amide that bears a noncyclic amide functional group) has recently been found to exhibit remarkable efficacy in reducing arterial thrombosis in mouse models. It outperformed the standard drug, aspirin. In these studies, a diverse library of lactam carboxamides has been assembled in a cost-effective, atom-economical, and orientation-specific manner by utilizing green chemistry. This method used to create the library is modular, chemoselective, and diastereoselective. This provides an excellent opportunity for further therapeutic applications. The structures of the synthesized carboxamides have been confirmed by routine spectroscopic techniques, including nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry (NMR). In house collaborators are evaluating the blood clotting inhibitor activity of these versatile compounds. The in vitro anti-platelet efficacy will be investigated in platelet-rich plasma, induced by collagen. A detailed structure-activity relationship study is ongoing in hopes of finding the best agent in preventing arterial thrombosis