• Login
• Admin

Zhyvitska, Kateryna (2023) Sustainable Photooxidations in the Syntheses of Pharmaceutically Relevant Compounds. PhD thesis, University of Nottingham.

PDF (Thesis - as examined) - Repository staff only - Requires a PDF viewer such as GSview, Xpdf or Adobe Acrobat Reader Available under Licence Creative Commons Attribution. Download (8MB) Request Thesis

Abstract

Rapid developments in the Pharma industry have demanded more agile, personalised, and sustainable manufacturing of pharmaceutical products, incorporating green technologies and processes. Photooxidation is a highly desirable example of such methodology, generating oxy-functionalised compounds using molecular oxygen, facilitated by the absorption of visible light. Herein this Thesis, the application of photochemical oxidations in the chemical syntheses of medicinally relevant compounds is explored.

Chapter 1 provides context to green and sustainable chemistry, and photochemistry is introduced, with exploration of the advantages and limitation of the green methodology, as well as its application in continuous flow processes. Various commercial and laboratory-made photochemical reactors are described. The research aims of this Thesis are outlined.

Chapter 2 details the operations of photochemical reactions performed throughout this Thesis, including types of light sources and photosensitisers. Batch and flow photochemical rigs (PhotoVap and PhotoVortex) developed by our group are described.

Chapter 3 explores malaria, with past and present antimalarial drugs, such as artemisinin and its synthetic analogues. The progress made towards the synthesis of novel trioxane antimalarial scaffolds, via photochemical dearomatisation, is detailed. The advantage of employing our PhotoVap rig is presented.

Chapter 4 investigates a novel substituted 1-benzoxepine molecule with potential wide range of biological properties highly sought in medicinal chemistry. The acid-catalysed benzoxepine is uniquely formed from photochemically generated hydroperoxides, and syntheses of additional 1-benzoxepine structures are attempted.

Chapter 5 explores the formation of a 3-hydroxypyrroloindoline core from a tryptophan amino acid by photochemical methods using the PhotoVap and PhotoVortex rigs. The alkaloid structure exhibits a broad range of biological activity, and is obtained by a continuous flow photooxidation process for the first time, demonstrating effective scale-up for industrial application.

Chapter 6 describes an efficient and alternative synthesis of the cardiotonic drug Sulmazole, used in the treatment of congestive heart failure, via selective and green photochemical methods.

Chapter 7 summarises the results of the Thesis and the research aims are reflected upon, with future directions and experiments proposed.

Item Type:	Thesis (University of Nottingham only) (PhD)
Supervisors:	George, Mike Poliakoff, Martyn
Keywords:	pharmaceutical compounds, photooxidation, photochemical reactions
Subjects:	Q Science > QD Chemistry > QD450 Physical and theoretical chemistry R Medicine > RS Pharmacy and materia medica
Faculties/Schools:	UK Campuses > Faculty of Science > School of Chemistry
Item ID:	73677
Depositing User:	Zhyvitska, Kateryna
Date Deposited:	20 Nov 2025 15:49
Last Modified:	20 Nov 2025 15:49
URI:	https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/id/eprint/73677

Actions (Archive Staff Only)

Edit View