RefNo | EC/1990/25 |
Level | Item |
Title | Mander, Lewis Norman: certificate of election to the Royal Society |
Date | 1983 |
Description | Citation typed. Supplementary certificate attached |
Citation | L.N. Mander is distinguished for his contributions to the total synthesis of natural products, in particular the class of plant growth regulators known as Gibberellins. These substances, especially the parent gibberellic acid, represent an awesome combination of functional groups and stereochemistry. To achieve these synthetic objectives he had to develop new methods for the elaboration of such functional arrays and his use of diaoketone cyclisations and the Birch reduction products of aromatic acids have not only enabled him to achieve and elegant synthesis of gibberellic acid and related C20 gibberellins but have at the same time contributed substantially to organic synthetic methodology. His parallel efforts in the area of synthetic models for cytochrome oxidase has resulted in the preparations of binuclear iron-copper porphyrins thereby revealing a clearly defined synthetic model for comparison to these important natural enzymes. |
The powerful synthetic strategies which he developed to conquer the Gibberellins have now provided the chemical basis for great advances in the field of Antheridiogens, growth factors from fern gametophytes, available in only nanogram quantities. Thus, his recent synthetic investigations has enabled structural assignments of these substances and also their preparation in substantial quantities required for further biological research. This important botanical development was not possible without Mander's synthetic achievements. In a similar way, by using synthesis to prepare highly hydroxylated gibberellins Mander, in collaboration with plant scientists has revealed the structural basis for the effects of gibberellins in flowering, as opposed to stem elongation. Thus Mander's research has demonstrated the immense power of synthetic organic chemistry in addressing and resolving important biological problems. |
AccessStatus | Closed |
Fellows associated with this archive
Code | PersonName | Dates |
NA1966 | Mander; Lewis Norman (1939 - 2020) | 1939 - 2020 |