The Diels-Alder & Other Pericyclic Reactions: Crash Course Organic Chemistry #42

Going out in the sun can work wonders for your mood, but unfortunately too much UV exposure can do serious damage to your DNA. This damage occurs through a type of organic reaction called a pericyclic reaction. In this episode of Crash Course Organic Chemistry, we’ll explore pericyclic reactions to see how the sun can both give us life, and hurt us, and also look at other important pericyclic reactions, such as the Diels-Alder reaction. Episode Sources: Ohashi, M., Jamieson, C.S., Cai, Y. et al. An enzymatic Alder-ene reaction. Nature 586, 64–69 (2020). Further Reading on Pericyclic Reactions and the Woodward-Hoffm