To culminate Organic Letters’ 20th anniversary, the journal has produced a Virtual Issue to showcase the most-read (downloaded) Letter published in each year of the journal’s existence thus far, 1999–2018. As Editor-in-Chief Erick M. Carreira notes in an editorial, this collection “highlights various themes reflecting the capacious spirit that defines Organic Letters as the premier rapid […]

To culminate Organic Letters’ 20th anniversary, the journal has produced a Virtual Issue to showcase the most-read (downloaded) Letter published in each year of the journal’s existence thus far, 1999–2018. As Editor-in-Chief Erick M. Carreira notes in an editorial, this collection “highlights various themes reflecting the capacious spirit that defines Organic Letters as the premier rapid communications journal in organic chemistry.”

The Letters in this Virtual Issue capture cutting-edge research in olefin metathesis, metal-mediated coupling, organocatalysis, gold catalysis, cycloadditions, natural products syntheses, biorthogonal chemistry, and more. They feature work by Nobel Laureates E. J. Corey, Robert H. Grubbs, and K. Barry Sharpless, as well as many other leading names in the field of organic chemistry: Bertozzi, Fu, Buchwald, Baran, Fukuyama, and Trauner.

Professor Corey is featured on the cover of the April 5, 2019, issue of the journal in recognition of his many contributions to Organic Letters, including two Letters in the first issue published July 15, 1999, and publication of a total of 80 Letters over the past 20 years.

What’s the most-read (downloaded) article so far in Organic Letters? It is the Letter by Bill J. Baker and colleagues, published in 2016 and now downloaded more than 49,000 times, describing the isolation of darwinolide. This structurally interesting diterpene derived from a sponge could prove useful in treating difficult methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections.

Organic Letters owes its success to the legions of authors and reviewers who have chosen to publish their top work in the journal,” Professor Carreira writes in the editorial. This Platinum Anniversary Virtual Issue, he adds, “is sure to inspire the next generation of high-caliber research that will find its way into Organic Letters.”

Read Organic Letters Editor-in-Chief Erick M. Carreira’s Editorial and check out the April 5 Organic Letters journal cover:

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