Dr R. Michael Paton

Honorary Fellow in Chemistry
Room 108
University of Edinburgh
Joseph Black Building
David Brewster Road
Edinburgh
EH9 3FJ
- Email: r.m.paton@ed.ac.uk
- Tel: 0131 650 4817
- Full Publication List
Research Interests
Organic synthesis, heterocyclic chemistry, carbohydrate synthesis, reactive intermediates, organic polymer chemistry.
Research Overview
The main theme of our research is studying the chemistry of 1,3-dipoles and their synthetic applications. Recent highlights include:
- The generation and cycloaddition reactions of nitrile sulfides, a rare class of short-lived nitrilium betaines, and their use for the synthesis of five-membered heterocycles incorporating the C=N-S unit, eg isothiazoles and 1,2,4-thiadiazoles;
- Establishing an efficient route to pyranosyl nitrile oxides and their use for the synthesis of novel C-glycosides, eg pyranosyl perimidines and various pyranosyl benzazoles.
- Nitrile oxide chemistry has also been used for the synthesis of pseudodisaccharides, carbohydrate-funtionalised polymers (neoglycopolymers) and higher carbon monosaccharides.
Other research interests include: chemical modification of vegetable oils, functionalisation of polyketones (CO-alkene alternating copolymers), and the chemistry of cellulose-derived levoglucosenone.



Publications
- Smellie, I.A.S.; Moggach , S.A. ; Paton, R.M., Synthesis of novel amidoxime-linked pseudo-disaccharides, Tetrahedron Lett., 2011, 52, 95-97.
- Smellie, I.A.S.; Fromm, A.; Moggach , S.A. ; Paton, R.M., Synthesis and structure of 2-pyranosylperimidines, Carbohydr. Res., 2011, 346, 43-49.
- Smellie, I.A.S.; Fromm, A,; Fabianni, F.; Oswald, I.D.H.; White, F.J.; Paton, R.M., Synthesis of 2-pyranosyl benzothiazoles, benzimidazoles and benzoxazoles via nucleophilic addition reactions of pyranosyl nitrile oxides, Tetrahedron, 2010, 66, 7155-7160.
- Fordyce, E.A.F.; Morrison, A.J.; Sharpe, R.D.; Paton, R.M., Microwave-induced generation and reactions of nitrile sulfides: an improved method for the synthesis of isothiazoles and 1,2,4-thiadiazoles, Tetrahedron, 2010, 66, 7192-7197.
- Mitchell, W.R.; Paton, R.M., Flash vacuum pyrolysis of 1,2,5-oxadiazole 2-oxides and 1,2,3-triazole 1-oxides, Arkivoc, 2010, (x), 34-54.
- Murphy, J.J.; Furusho, H.; Paton, R.M.; Nomura, K., Precise synthesis of poly(macromonomer)s containing sugars by repetitive ROMP and their attachments to poly(ethylene glycol): synthesis, TEM analysis and their properties as amphiphilic block fragments, Chem. Eur. J, 2007, 13, 8985-8997.