Illustrated Glossary of Organic Chemistry
Chemoselective:
A reaction that operates exclusively on one
functional group
in the presence of other
functional groups
.
This
NaBH
4
reduction
is chemoselective because the
ketone
is
reduced
but the
ester
is unchanged.
This
LiAlH
4
reduction
is not chemoselective because the
ketone
and
ester
are both
reduced
.
Related terms:
Stereoselective
,
stereospecific
,
regioselective
,
enantioselective
,
diastereoselective
,
protecting group
,
green chemistry
,
atom economy
Wikipedia entry
Return to glossary index