Throughout the drug development process, which can take a decade or more, tens of thousands of chemical compounds are produced that never go on to become medicines. A Florida State University researcher is part of a team that has discovered a new way to give some of these “dead ends” a second chance at becoming the foundation for tomorrow’s blockbuster drugs.

Assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry Bryan Kudisch and his collaborators have developed a light-powered chemical reaction that can transform a difficult-to-repurpose class of compounds known as sulfonamides into useful building blocks for future drug discoveries. Their research was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

“Kudisch is a molecular spectroscopist who develops and applies laser-based techniques to measure extraordinarily short-time processes, particularly chemically important processes induced by light,” said Wei Yang, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry chair. “His work demonstrates both exceptional technical ability and extraordinary insight into some of the most fundamental and complex processes in chemistry. This publication addressed an important problem closely related to drug discovery, which is a major strategic area of the FSU ASPIRE initiative.”