Patents have been issued to Materia Inc for two new ruthenium-based catalysts used for the metathesis of hindered olefins (alkenes).

The patents cover a new series of ruthenium organometallic complexes which the firm says have "outstanding reactivity profiles".

Both are the product of collaborative research between Materia and the California Institute of Technology.

The new catalysts enable metathesis approaches for the synthesis of an expanded class of compounds in the pharmaceutical and specialty chemical industries.

"We are excited to advance and expand the applicability of olefin metathesis in organic synthesis," said Dr Michael Giardello, Materia's chief executive officer. "These patents validate Materia's position as the world innovator in metathesis technologies through the continued cooperation of Caltech and Materia."

"It is important for new discoveries to be available for everyone to use and it is exciting that Materia is making these new catalysts available so that the community can exploit the new metathesis capabilities to solve challenging synthetic problems," stated Nobel laureate professor Robert H Grubbs, of the California Institute of Technology.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office issued patents for "Organometallic ruthenium complexes and related methods for the preparation of tetra-substituted and other hindered olefins" and "Olefin Metathesis Initiators Bearing Thiazol-2-ylidene ligands".

Source:

Patents for Improved Metathesis Catalysts Issued to Materia/Caltech (08/11/11) 

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