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Updated: Jul 10, 2025

Light-driven Enzymatic Decarboxylation
Published on: May 22, 2016
Visible-Light-Promoted C(sp3)-C(sp3) Cross-Coupling of Amino Acids and Aryl Trifluoromethyl Ketones Through
Kui Tan1,2, Jiaan He3, Zhilin Mu3
1Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518059, China.
Abstract:
A photoredox-catalyzed approach for the difluoroalkylation of amino acids was achieved through simultaneous decarboxylation and defluorination processes. This innovative protocol employs commonly available amino acids and trifluoroacetophenones as the primary starting materials, eliminating the necessity for preactivation. This strategy has enabled the synthesis of several difluoroketone functionalized amines in moderate to impressive yields. These synthesized compounds are presented as foundational molecules for subsequent modification. The underlying mechanism for the transformation is anchored in a single electron transfer (SET) radical pathway.
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