James M. Bobbitt

James M. Bobbitt (born January 18, 1930 in Charleston, West Virginia) is an American chemist and professor.

Bobbitt received a B. S. degree in chemistry from West Virginia University in 1951 and moved to the Ohio State University.At Ohio State, he received a Ph. D. degree with Melville L. Wolfrom in 1955, working on periodate oxidations.

During his time at Ohio State, he worked from 1952 to 1955 as a teaching assistant. He then moved to Wayne State University, as a postdoctoral fellow in the research group of Carl Djerassi, working on isoquinoline alkaloids. In 1956, he was hiredas a lecturer at the University of Connecticut where he became Professor of Chemistry from 1969 to 1991. He served as Department Head of Chemistry from 1956 to 1972.In 1992 he became Professor Emeritus. Since 1992 he has continued to work in the laboratory on various problems, mostly in oxidation chemistry.

In 1959, he received a National Science Foundation Fellowship to work with Hans Schmid [de] at the University of Zürich in Switzerland on iridoid glycosides.Bobbitt also worked as a visiting lecturer; from 1964 to 1965 at the University of East Anglia under the direction of Alan R. Katritzky; in June 1968 with a short DAAD grant at the University of Kiel with Burchard Franck; from 1971 to 1990 in a collaboration with Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan with Tetsuji Kametani and Tetsuo Osa on catalytic oxidations; and at La Trobe University in Australia from 1980 to 1981 and at the University of Adelaide in 1985.

His research has been focused onalkaloids, preparative electrochemistry, and oxidation chemistry . Additional research interests included the synthesis of nitrogen heterocycles, thin-layer chromatography, electrolytic oxidation and oxoammonium salt oxidation of alcohols with stoichiometric amounts of the Bobbitt recyclable salt. Particular attention is called to the Bobbitt reaction for the synthesis of tetrahydroisoquinoline and its derivatives in 1965 and following papers.

In 1968, Bobbittbecame the lead instructor for a course called "Thin-Layer Chromatography" by the American Chemical Society and gave many courses and seminars across the United States on that subject. In 1970, he became president of the University of Connecticut Chapter at Sigma Xi, and in 1975, the president of University of Connecticut Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa.

Bobbitt is the author of two books on chromatography and some 120 research articles.

Books

• James M. Bobbitt: Thin-layer Chromatography. Reinhold Publishing Co., New York 1963.
• J. M. Bobbitt, A. E Schwarting, and R. J. Gritter, Introduction to Chromatography. ReinholdPublishing, Co. New York (1968), Second Edition, R. J. Gritter, J. M. Bobbitt and A. E. Schwarting, Holden-Day, Inc., Oakland California.

Reviews

• J. M. Bobbitt: Periodate Oxidations of Carbohydrates, Advances in Carbohydrate Chemistry, Vol. 11, 1956, 1-42.
• J. M. Bobbitt: The Chemistry of 4-Oxy- and 4-keto-1,2,3,4-tetrahyhdroisoquinolines, Advances in Heterocyclic Chemistry, Vol. 15, 1973, 99-128. (TheBobbitt Reaction).
• J. M. Bobbitt, A. J. Bourque: Syntheses of heterocycles using aminoacetals, Heterocycles. Vol. 25, 1987, pp. 601–616.
• J. M. Bobbitt and K.-P. Segebarth: The Iridoid Glycosides and Similar Substances,in Cyxlopentanoterpine Derivatives, W. I. Taylor and A. R. Battersby, Eds. Marcel Dekker, 1969, 1-139.
• T. Osa, Y. Kashiwagi, J. M. Bobbitt, and Z. Ma: Electroorganic Synthesis on Catalyst Coated Electrodes. In Electronic Synthesis, R. D. Little and N. L. Weinberf, Eds., Marcel Dekker, Inc. New York, 343-354.1991.
• J. M. Bobbitt, C. Brückner and N. Merbouh: Oxoammonium Salt and Nitroxide Catalyzed Oxidations of Alcohols. OrganicReactions, Vol. 74, 2009 103-424.

Selected papers

• M. L Wolfrom, J. M. Bobbitt: Periodate oxidation of cyclic 1,3, -diketones. Journal of the American Chemical Society Vol. 78, 1956, 2489.
• C. Djerassi, S. K. Figdor, J. M. Bobbitt, F. I. Markley: Alkaloid studies. XIV. The structure of the cactus alkaloid piloceriene.Journal of the American Chemical Society. Volume 78, 1956, 3861.
• J. M. Bobbitt, H. Schmid, T. B. Africa. Catalpa glycosides. 1. The chararctization of catalposide.Journal of Organic Chemistry Vol. 26, 1961, 2230.
• J. M. Bobbitt, J. C. Sih: Synthesis of isoquinolines. VII. 4-hydroxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinolines. Journal of Organic Chemistry. Vol. 33, 1968, 856-859.
• J. M. Bobbitt, A. R. Katritzky, R. D. Kennewell, M. Snarey: Steric requirements of sp2-Hybridized lone electron pairs. Part 1. The conformation of –(pyridylmethylene-onesnes. J. Chem. Soc (B) 1968, 550-553.
• J. M. Bobbitt, A. S. Steinfeld, K. H. Weisgraber, S. Dutta: Synthesis of isoquinolines. X. 1-alkyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoilines. in:Journal of Organic Chemistry. Vol. 34, 1969, 2487.
• J. M. Bobbitt, I. Noguchi, H. Yagi, K. H. Weisgraber: Electrochemistry of natural Products. III. A stereoselective, stereospecific phenol coupling reaction. In: Journal of the American Chemical Society 1971,93,551.
• J. M. Bobbitt, S. J. Huang: A simulated research project in synthetic organic chemistry. An undergraduate laboratory. In: J. Chem. Educ. Volume51, 1974, 58.
• J. M. Bobbitt, I. G. C. Coutts, M. R. Hamblin, E.J. Tinley: The enzymatic oxidation of phenolic tetrahydroisoquinoline-1-carboxylic acids.In: Journal of the Chemical Society, Perkin Transactions 1, 1979, pp 2744–2749.