Prospectus

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Modern Organic Chemistry (MOC)

Course
2020-2021

Admission requirements

Core course MSc Chemistry - Chemical Biology, elective course MSc Chemistry, MSc Life Science and Technology.

A BSc degree in the MST, LST, BFW or equivalent. Student should be familiar with fundamental concepts and transformations in organic chemistry at the level of the first year and the second year organic chemistry courses. For the students of LST the Molecular Chemistry class is highly recommended to gain the background knowledge. Students should be able to work mechanisms of the reactions discussed in Chapters 6, 9-11, 15 -17, 19 -26 of the recommended book (Clayden). The students are encouraged to take Synthetic Organic Chemistry (4012SOCH5) and Reactivity of Organic Chemistry (4423RIOCH) classes before taking this class.

Description

The chemical transformations common in the modern organic chemistry are discussed in depth in the context of total syntheses of complex natural products taken from the contemporary literature. The students are expected to prepare the preassigned articles before the class and to actively participate in the classes that are organized in a form of problem-solving sessions.

Course objectives

After the course the student should be able to:

  • Understand modern organic transformations;

  • Understand transition metal catalyzed organic transformations;

  • Understand and apply modern concepts in organic chemistry;

  • Prediction of the structure of the product of modern organic reactions;

  • Design a synthetic route as part of a total synthesis of a complex molecule;

  • Understand a synthetic organic chemistry publication from recent literature;

Timetable

Schedule information can be found on the website of the programmes.

Mode of instruction

The course consists of problem-solving sessions, rather than formal lectures. In weekly sessions, the structure and reactivity of organic compounds are discussed. Students prepare for these sessions by studying selected chapters from Organic Chemistry textbooks, as well as selected relevant papers from the literature. In case of the limited accessibility of the university campus due to unfavorable epidemiological situation the sessions will be organized on-line (e.g. on Kaltura platform) and additional self-study materials will be provided on Brightspace.

Assessment method

Written exam (only one textbook of student’s choice is allowed during the exam).
Student has to work all mechanisms from a recent organic chemistry research publication.
Formative tests during the lectures in the form of web-based quizzes on a suitable online platform
Dependent on the corona measures in place at the time of the final exam, the final assessment may need to be replaced by a combination of an online open book exam and a 20 min quiz on a suitable online platform.
Changes to the assessment method will be announced via Brightspace a minimum of 10 working days before the originally scheduled exam date.

Reading list

Handouts (via Brightspace) and one organic chemistry book of student’s choice.
Recommended is Organic Chemistry, 2nd edition, Clayden, Greeves and Warren.

Registration

Register for this course via uSis

Contact

Dr. D.V. Filippov

Remarks

According to OER article 4.8, students are entitled to view their marked examination for a period of 30 days following the publication of the results of a written examination. Students should contact the lecturer to make an appointment for such an inspection session.