A paper titled “Highly Diastereoselective Hydroxy-Aza-Prins Cyclization: Rapid Access to 4′-Hydroxy Six-Membered Spiro Azacyclic Oxindoles,” with Ph.D. candidate Choi Hoe-young (advisor: Professor Ko Haye Min) from the Department of Chemistry at Kookmin University (President Jeong Seung Ryul) as the first author, has been published in The Journal of Organic Chemistry (JOC), an international journal in the field of organic chemistry.

▲ From left: Ph.D. candidate Choi Hoe-young, Department of Chemistry, Graduate School; Professor Ko Haye Min

The Journal of Organic Chemistry (JOC) is an international academic journal that broadly covers fundamental and applied research across all areas of organic chemistry, including organic synthesis, reaction mechanisms, and organic molecular design. It consistently publishes research with significant academic and industrial impact, such as novel synthetic strategies and advanced selectivity control techniques.

This study presents a novel strategy for efficiently synthesizing a hexagonal spiro-aza-cyclic oxindole structure based on a palladium-catalyzed reaction. The research team confirmed that the 4-hydroxy spiro-oxindole structure can be selectively formed with high regioselectivity through a one-pot reaction.

Furthermore, this reaction demonstrated broad applicability to various substrates, excellent yields, and the ability to precisely control the stereoselectivity during spiro structure formation by utilizing hydrogen bonding interactions.

This achievement presents a novel organic synthesis strategy enabling the rapid and selective synthesis of complex spiro azacyclic oxindole structures. It is expected to find applications in diverse fields, including medicinal chemistry, bioactive molecules, and drug candidate development.