Steven L. Castle
Office: C411 BNSN
Office Phone: 801-422-1780
Lab Room: C449, C455, C471, C494 and C437A
Lab Phone: 801-422-3827
Email: scastle@chem.byu.edu
Office Hours
Education:
BS, Brigham Young University (1995)
Ph.D., The Scripps Research Institute (2000)
NIH Postdoctoral Fellow, UC Irvine (2000-2002)
Research:
Our research is focused on the total synthesis of architecturally complex bioactive natural products and peptides. We believe that the structures of such compounds can serve as inspiration for the invention of new organic reactions and processes. Additionally, studies of their biological activity can increase our understanding of their modes of action, potentially leading to the design and development of new therapeutic agents. Some of our recent synthetic targets are shown below.
Additional research areas: Bioorganic, Cancer Research, Medicinal and Natural Products
Publications:
58. Jackman, M. M.; Im, S.; Bohman, S. R.; Lo, C. C. L.; Garrity, A. L.; Castle, S. L.* “Synthesis of Functionalized Nitriles via Microwave-Promoted Fragmentations of Cyclic Iminyl Radicals.” Chem.–Eur. J. 2018, 24, 594–598.
57. Jalan, A.; Kastner, D. W.; Webber, K. G. I.; Smith, M. S.; Price, J. L.;* Castle, S. L.* “Bulky Dehydroamino Acids Enhance Proteolytic Stability and Folding in Beta-Hairpin Peptides.” Org. Lett. 2017, 19, 5190–5193.
51. Cai, Y.; Jalan, A.; Kubosumi, A. R.; Castle, S. L.* “Microwave-Promoted Tin-Free Iminyl Radical Cyclization with TEMPO Trapping: A Practical Synthesis of 2-Acylpyrroles.” Org. Lett. 2015, 17, 488–491.
49. Ma, Z.; Jiang, J.; Luo, S.; Cai, Y.; Cardon, J. M.; Kay, B. M.; Ess, D. H.;* Castle, S. L.* “Selective Access to E- and Z-ΔIle-Containing Peptides via a Stereospecific E2 Dehydration and an O → N Acyl Transfer.” Org. Lett. 2014, 16, 4044–4047.
36. Ma, B.; Banerjee, B.; Litvinov, D. N.; He, L.; Castle, S. L.* “Total Synthesis of the Antimitotic Bicyclic Peptide Celogentin C.” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2010, 132, 1159–1171.
Awards:
- Research Innovation Award, Research Corporation (2004)
- Top-50 Most Cited Article Award, Tetrahedron 2005-2008 (2008)
- Long-Term Invitation Fellowship, JSPS (2012)
- Wesley P. Lloyd Award for Distinction in Graduate Education, BYU (2017)
Associate Director, Simmons Center for Cancer Research
The Castle Group 2018
(L to R): Garrison Nickel, Stephen White, Steven Castle, Michael Lee, Jatinder Singh, Concordia Lo, Amanda Garrity, Daniel Joaquin, Diego Moya