| Alpha lipoic acid is an antioxidant found in certain foods, including red meat, spinach, broccoli, potatoes, yams, carrots, beets, and yeast. The aim of the research was to synthesize novel derivative and analogue of lipoic acid by chemically modifying alpha-lipoic acid and to study the activity of the synthetic products. Several derivatives of lipoic acid were designed based on previous experimental evidence and literature data. The synthesis of the derivative of lipoic acid was done by modification of the disulfide bond followed by cyclization with aromatic ring in lipoic acid. The analogue was synthesized by cyclization and silicon was introduced into the structure to study beta-silicon effect and macrocyclic effect in the ring structure. The modified derivative and analogue of lipoic acid were confirmed by 1H NMR, 13C NMR and Mass spectroscopy. We are hoping the modified lipoic acid derivative would show greater antioxidant activities compared to alpha-lipoic acid. The oxidation activity, redox chemistry and co-ordination chemistry with metals of synthetic derivative will be studied and compared with that of lipoic acid. |
