Date: June 23, 2022

Source: Institute for Advanced and Applied Chemical Synthesis

The team of Martin Banwell, academician of JNU's Institute for Advanced and Applied Chemical Synthesis in the College of Pharmacy, has reported significant progress in complete synthesis of morphinan analgesics, realizing their rapid, efficient and simple synthesis with an unprecedented short preparation process. The team's research paper, titled Expeditious Access to Morphinans by Chemical Synthesis, was published as the cover paper of the latest issue of the prestigious international academic journal Angewandte Chemie (impact factor 15.336).

（The cover）

 （Screenshot of the paper）

Acting directly on the central nervous system, morphinan analgesics can selectively reduce pain in the human body when used clinically for acute and chronic pain. Nearly 1,000 tons of morphinan analgesics were produced worldwide in 2021, much of them morphine and codeine, widely used in clinical analgesia.

The paper's first author is Dr. Lorenzo White of the institute, and the second and third authors are Dr. Hu Nan and doctoral student He Yutao. Banwell and Associate Researcher Lan Ping are the corresponding authors. The research is supported by the National Overseas Talents Program, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Foreign Young Talents Program of the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong.

Link to paper：https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/anie.202203186