Congratulations! Junjie Ge and Lihang Cao, graduate students, have had their paper accepted by Nature Communications
Recently, a research paper titled "Ring Expansion of Bicyclo[1.1.0]butyl Ketones to Bicyclo[2.1.1]hexenes Using Ketone as Both Activating and Reacting Groups", co-authored by Ms. Ge Junjie (a 2025 master's graduate of the group) and Mr. Cao Lixing (a 2023 integrated master - doctoral student of the group), has been accepted by Nature Communications. Nature Communications is an internationally renowned comprehensive academic journal in the field of natural sciences. It is classified as a TOP journal in CAS Category 1, with a latest impact factor of 15.7. This study has developed a new strategy for the ring expansion reaction of bicyclo[1.1.0]butane (BCB). By using the activating group on BCB as a reaction site simultaneously, the efficient construction of the bicyclo[2.1.1]hexene (BCHe) framework was achieved through exocyclization. This method has been successfully applied to the synthesis of the benzene ring bioisostere of the marketed anti - cancer drug sonidegib, which initially demonstrates the application potential of such bicyclic frameworks in the modification of drug molecules. In addition, the study found that the obtained BCHe compounds exhibit aggregation - induced emission (AIE) properties, showing potential application value in the field of materials science. This work integrates multiple disciplines such as organic synthesis, medicinal chemistry and materials science, fully reflecting the research characteristics of interdisciplinary integration.
Our university is the sole completing institution. Junjie Ge (mainly responsible for organic synthesis) and Lihang Cao (mainly responsible for mechanism calculation and biological activity) are co-first authors. The corresponding authors are distinguished associate Professor Hua Chen, Professor Hong Wang and Lecturer Zhikun Yang, who are the supervising tutors of the two students.
