Protection (and Deprotection) of Functional Groups in Organic Synthesis by Heterogeneous Catalysis

Giovanni Sartori was born in Casalmaggiore, Italy, in 1944. He studied chemistry at the University of Parma, where he obtained his laurea degree under the guidance of Prof. Giuseppe Casnati in 1971. In 1972, he began his career at the University of Parma, working in the group of Prof. Casnati on the regio- and stereoselective functionalization of ambidental reagents. He was promoted to Associate Professor of Organic Chemistry in 1985 and Full Professor in 1994. He is currently the Head of the “Clean Synthetic Methodologies Groups” of the University of Parma. His research interests include all aspects of the heterogeneous catalysis applied to fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals production, with particular attention to the preparation and use of supported organic (chiral) catalysts. A special area of extensive interest is also the development of new eco-compatible synthetic methods, mainly based on the exploitation of solvent-free and multicomponent reactions. He has published about 130 original studies and filed approximately 20 patents.

Roberto Ballini received an S.B. degree in chemistry from the University of Camerino, Italy. After an experience in the petrochemical industry (ENI-ANIC, Ravenna), he began his academic career in 1975 at the University of Camerino as a Research Fellow. He became Assistant Professor in 1978, was promoted to Associate Professor of Organic Chemistry, and then to full Professor (organic chemistry) in 2000. His recent research interests include the chemistry of aliphatic nitrocompounds, the formation and cleavage of C−C bonds, the studies and application of heterogeneous catalysis, the synthesis of natural products, and the use of aqueous media in organic reactions.

Franca Bigi was born in Parma, Italy, in 1955. She received her laurea degree (cum laude) in chemistry from the University of Parma in 1979. After a two-year fellowship at Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, from 1983 to 1992 she had a permanent position as Researcher at Parma University in the group of Professor G. Casnati. In 1992, she was promoted to Associate Professor of Organic Chemistry at the Faculty of Science of the Parma University. Her research interests concern the development of selective and environmentally friendly procedures under heterogeneous catalysis for fine chemicals synthesis. More recently, she has been interested in the preparation of chiral organic−inorganic hybrid materials to promote stereoselective processes, and she has developed uncatalyzed Knöevenagel condensations in water.

Giovanna Bosica is a researcher at the Department of Chemical Sciences of the University of Camerino. She received her Laurea in chemistry in 1993 from the University of Camerino and, four years later, from the same institution her doctoral degree in chemical sciences, working under the supervision of Prof. R. Ballini. She spent a research period in the laboratories of Prof. B. Zwanenburg (University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands, 1995). Her research interests concern the use of nitro compounds in new synthetic methodologies, functional groups interconversion, synthesis of biologically active natural products, and green chemistry.

Raimondo Maggi was born in Parma, Italy, in 1963. He graduated from the University of Parma in 1989 (working with Prof. Giuseppe Casnati), and he received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry (under the direction of Prof. Giovanni Sartori) from the same University in 1992. In 1995, he carried out his postdoctoral research with Prof. Manfred Schlosser at the Lausanne University. He began his career at the University of Parma in 1997 as Researcher, and in 2002 he was promoted to Associate Professor of Organic Chemistry. His research interests include the preparation and use of heterogeneous (chiral) catalysts for the environmentally friendly synthesis of fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals. He has published about 80 original studies.

Paolo Righi was born in Modena, Italy, in 1963. He graduated cum laude in 1987 under the tutorship of Prof. Antonino Fava, and got the Ph.D degree in chemical sciences from the University of Bologna in 1991 under the guidance of Prof. Goffredo Rosini. In 1992, he joined the group of Prof. Goffredo Rosini at the University of Bologna as a research assistant, working on novel tandem, domino, and multicomponent processes and the preparation and utilization of bicyclo[3.2.0]heptenones for the synthesis of natural products and new versatile building blocks. In 2002, he was appointed Associate Professor at the Faculty of Industrial Chemistry.