Organic Chemistry

Purdue University has a history of excellence in organic chemistry as exemplified by pioneering work in boron chemistry and transition-metal catalyzed cross-coupling, two areas recognized by Nobel Prizes awarded to Prof. H. C. Brown and Prof. Ei-ichi Negishi. We continue to build on this legacy in order to tackle global challenges related to health and human disease; synthesis and manufacturing; sustainability and the environment; and modern computing, artificial intelligence, and automation. With 20 faculty members and over 100 graduate and undergraduate researchers, our research activities are multifaceted, interdisciplinary, and highly collaborative.
Our Faculty

Ryan Altman
- Methods Development
- Organofluorine Chemistry
- Medicinal Chemistry

Bram Axelrod
- Carbohydrate Synthesis
- Glycoprotein Chemistry
- Small Molecule Natural Products

Bryon Drown
- Chemical Proteomics
- Protein-Drug Interactions
- Chemical Tool Synthesis

Arun Ghosh
- Bioactive Natural Products Synthesis
- Development of New Reactions and Applications
- Drug Discovery and Medicinal Chemistry
- Structure-Based Molecular Design

Hilkka Kenttämaa
- Organic Reaction Intermediates
- Analysis Methods for Drug Metabolites and Impurities
- Organic Chemistry Related to Energy

Mark Lipton
- Organic Synthesis
- Medicinal Chemistry
- Peptide Chemistry

Gabriel Lovinger
- Synthetic Physical Organic Chemistry (SPOC)
- Selective Transition Metal Catalysis & Organocatalysis
- Fundamental Reaction Discovery & Mechanistic Analysis
- Methods Development

Chengde Mao
- DNA Nanotechnology
- Self-Assembly
- Biosensing/Nanomedicine

Jianguo Mei
- Organic and Polymer Synthesis
- Organic Electronics that are Flexible and Stretchable
- Bioelectronics that connect Biology with Electronics

Ming-Yu Ngai
- Photoredox/Excited-State Catalysis
- Transition Metal Catalysis
- Organofluorine Chemistry
- Carbohydrate Chemistry

P. Ramachandran
- Catalytic Reaction Methodology
- Antibacterial Research
- Chemoproteomics
- Materials Chemistry

Severin Schneebeli
- Supramolecular Chemistry
- New Affinity Reagents
- Biopharmaceutical Production, Stabilization, and Delivery

David Thompson
- Drug Synthesis Using Flow Chemistry
- Lipid- & Protein-Based Drug Delivery Systems
- Affinity Capture Materials for cryoEM

Christopher Uyeda
- Synthesis and Methodology
- Organometallic Chemistry and Transition Metal Catalysis
- Organic Materials

Alexander Wei
- Antimicrobial Photodynamic Therapy
- Fluorescent Dyes for Imaging of Cellular Signals
- Sustainable Hybrid Thermoplastics