Rashid Ali

By Ishfaq Ahmad Rather and Rashid Ali

Catalysts by virtue of lowering the activation barrier helps in the completion of a chemical reaction in a lesser amount of time without being themselves consumed. Utilizing the diverse non-covalent interactions in the design and construction of catalysts, recently anion-π interactions were also introduced, giving rise to an emerging field of anion-π catalysis. In the newly constructed anion-π catalysts, significant lowering of activation energy occurs by virtue of anion-π interactions. Till now, several important reactions generating chiral centers have been carried out on the π-acidic surfaces of anion-π catalysts, thereby revealing the significance of anion-π catalysis in the domain of asymmetric synthesis. The motive of this chapter is to highlight the role of anion-π catalysis in asymmetric synthesis and we surely believe that it will offer new opportunities in supramolecular chemistry.

Part of the book: Current Topics in Chirality

By Rashid Ali

After the first report of deep eutectic mixtures by the team of Abbott in 2003, the advent of green synthesis has been progressively changing the way synthetic chemistry is thought and also taught. Since then, a plethora of efforts worldwide have been taken to stretch the ideas of sustainable as well as environmentally benign approaches to do the crucial synthetic organic transformations under operationally simple yet effective conditions. Although, till date, several green synthetic strategies for examples ultrasound, microwaves, flow as well as grindstone chemistry etc., and green reaction media (e.g. ionic liquid, water, scCO₂, and so forth) have successfully been invented. But a low melting mixture of L-(+)-tartaric acid (TA) and N,N′-dimethylurea (DMU), usually plays a double and/or triple role (solvent, catalyst, and/or reagent), though still infancy but enjoys several eye-catching properties like biodegradability, recyclability, non-toxicity, good thermal stability, tunable physiochemical properties, low vapor pressure as well as reasonable prices in addition to the easy preparation with wide functional groups tolerance. To this context, keeping the importance of this novel low melting mixture in mind, we intended to reveal the advancements taken place in this wonderful area of research since its first report by the Köenig’s group in 2011 to till date. In this particular chapter, firstly we would disclose the importance of the green synthesis followed by a brief description of deep-eutectic solvents (DESs) particularly emphasizing on the role of L-(+)-TA and DMU from modern synthetic chemistry perspective.

Part of the book: Current Topics in Chirality

By Rashid Ali

Part of the book: Cyclodextrins

By Ishfaq Ahmad Rather, Ahmad Hasan and Rashid Ali

Owing to the selective recognition ability, exceptional biocompatibility, water solubility, non-toxicity, economically inexpensive, commercial availability, and easy functionalization, cyclodextrins (CDs) act as the main building blocks for the creation of beautifully simple yet much effective supramolecular architectures of fundamental interest. Over the past few decades, CDs have engrossed a noteworthy interest in the scientific community because of their usage in the development of chemical sensors via molecular recognition phenomenon. Bearing the delightful sensing capability of CDs in mind, herewith, we envisioned to disclose the recent developments in the sensing of diverse biologically significant small molecules by CDs through colorimetric, fluorescence, electrochemical, and potentiometric response. Sensing events and corresponding distinguishing optical features in cyclodextrin-based monomers, dimers, clusters, and nano-assemblies have been elaborated in detail. The authors are of the opinion that this chapter will offer new dimensions to supramolecular sensors in general and CDs-based sensors in particular.

Part of the book: Cyclodextrins

By Lubna Khan, Rashid Ali and Farheen Farooqui

Transdermal drug delivery systems (TDDSs) have become immensely popular over the past few years owing to their safe and noninvasive administration of the drugs across the skin. The TDDSs have provided a better surrogate pathway over conventional routes such as skin patches and injections, thereby resulting in superior and easier acceptance by the patients, minimized side effects, and controlled delivery rates. While TDDSs present these advantages, they also come with their limitations, specifically in delivering both small and macro drug molecules that exhibit moderate solubility in water and/or commonly used volatile organic solvents. To subdue this obstacle, ionic liquids (ILs) are being considered as the potential media not only for the syntheses of drugs but also as suitable carriers for the efficient delivery of both small as well as macromolecules. In this particular book chapter, we have discussed the transdermal drug delivery (TDD) of various partially soluble drugs such as acyclovir, anti-inflammatory drugs like diclofenac and ibuprofen, various anticancer drugs, etc., through heterocyclic-based ILs. Moreover, some green routes for ILs syntheses, including fatty acid-based “amino acid ionic liquids” (FAAAE-ILs) and “magnetic surface-active ionic liquid surfactants” (MSAIL), have also been discussed highlighting their function as the potential transdermal drug delivery agent.

Part of the book: Heterocyclic Chemistry