A Nature article reports a stereospecific C(sp3)–C(sp3) cross-coupling of boronic esters catalyzed by a copper acetylide complex, enabling four-coordinate boron ate complex pathways while remaining inert to simple boronic ester functionalities.

The reaction achieves stereospecific formation of C(sp3)–C(sp3) bonds, addressing a major challenge in using enantiomerically enriched boronic esters for modular synthesis and complex molecule construction.

A key mechanistic feature is compatibility with boronic esters and selective engagement of stereogenic centers, enabling controlled transfer of stereochemistry during cross-coupling.

Authors and affiliations: Xieyang Zhang, Kyle T. Palka, Mingkai Zhang, and James P. Morken from the Department of Chemistry at Boston College.

Corresponding author is James P. Morken (email provided).

Peer review files and supplementary materials are available online, including Extended Data documents detailing experimental procedures and data.

Supplementary Information includes General Information, Experimental Section, Stereochemistry Study, Computational Details, References, and NMR Spectral Data.

The methodology is demonstrated with applications to the synthesis of the natural product skeletons of (−)-spongidepsin and fluvirucinine A1, illustrating practical utility in complex molecule synthesis.