Quinic acid and its acyl-derivatives are widespread secondary metabolites of the shikimic acid pathway in plants and can be obtained from tannin, coffee beans, plants, fruits, and even food wastes. We are interested in exploiting the multiple hydroxylated stereocenters for the development of new synthetic chiral building blocks, namely in the preparation of cyclitols, carbasugars, and other hydroxylated cyclic structures of potential biological activity. By applying state-of-the-art synthetic methodologies and using modern spectroscopic and computational methods, we aim at further increasing the molecular complexity of this structurally rich natural product.

Catalytic hydrosilylation reactions are excellent alternatives to the reductions with metalic hydrides and hydrogenations given their selectivity, functional group tolerance, mild reaction conditions and simplified procedures. Our recent disclosure on the preparation of a novel pinacol-derived chlorohydrosilane opens unexplored paths in homogeneous catalysis, namely in the Lewis base-catalyzed hydrosilylation of carbon heteroatom unsaturated bonds.

The multicomponent Petasis borono-Mannich reaction is an excellent tool for the preparation of alkylaminophenols, given its easy operability and the possibility for structural diversification of the products. These small molecules have inspired us in the development of new antibacterial and antitumor agents. We keep searching for other pharmaceutical uses of these compounds either by looking into unraveled biological properties or by developing technological applications for biological systems.

Acylsilanes are a very interesting class of carbonyl containing compounds given their ability to form siloxycarbenes under thermal or photolytic decomposition. These reactive molecules have been explored in the construction of organosilanes, as the incorporation of silicon into an organic compound can endow it with exceptional physical and chemical properties. The effects of silicon on the reactivity of organic molecules, and on their biological properties are intriguing aspects that have caught our attention.