Nicos A. Petasis

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Nicos A. Petasis (* 1954 in Cyprus ) is a Cypriot-American chemist (organic synthesis, bio-organic chemistry, pharmacology). He is a professor at the University of Southern California (USC).

Petasis reaction

Petasis received his bachelor's degree from Aristotle University in Thessaloniki in 1978 and received his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania in 1983 . From 1987 he was at USC. Since 2001 he has been Harold E. & Lillian M. Moulton Professor at the Loker Hydrocarbon Institute of the USC and later at the Dana and David Dornsife College of Arts and Letters.

Petasis comes up with novel organic synthesis methods, in particular using the chemistry of boron and titanium (since these are environmentally friendly, cheap and reactive). Among them, the Petasis reaction (Petasis borono-Mannich reaction, PBM), a reaction of amines and aldehydes with vinyl - and aryl - boronic acid for the synthesis of amines, and the Petasis Ferrier rearrangement (1995).

The Petasis reagent , an organometallic titanium complex, is named after him. It is widely used in research laboratories (including at Merck for the development of the chemotherapeutic agent Emend ).

Among other things, he dealt with lipoxins (metabolites of arachidonic acid that have anti-inflammatory effects and are released, among other things, by neutrophils ) and other substances associated with omega-3 fatty acids . With Charles Serhan of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, he developed stable and long-lasting synthetic lipoxins, a new approach to anti-inflammatory drugs. He also investigates why omega-3 fatty acids are beneficial to health. He is also working on novel chemotherapy drugs for cancer. He holds several patents.

In 2009 he became Arthur C. Cope Scholar of the American Chemical Society. He also received the USC Associates Award for Creativity in Research and Scholarship.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Dictionary of Graduate Research, ACS, 1987
  2. ↑ Communication from USC 2009
personal data
SURNAME Petasis, Nicos A.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Cypriot-American chemist
DATE OF BIRTH 1954
PLACE OF BIRTH Cyprus