Jun Yong Kang and Paul Foster (both Chemistry and Biochemistry) have been awarded a patent (10,633,403) granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for the invention “N-Heterocyclic Phosphines." The chemical reagents, N-Heterocyclic Phosphines, enable a rapid synthesis of potential bioactive phosphorus-containing compounds and active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) under toxic metal-free conditions.

This invention also describes efficient, mild, toxic metal-free synthetic methods of various organophosphorus compounds, which have attracted great attention among scientists including chemists, biochemists, medicinal chemists, and biologists due to their broad spectrum of biomedical applications.

These reagents are commercially available at Kerafast, a global supplier of biological research tools.