Iron oxide produced by iron-oxidizing bacteria, Leptothrix ochracea, (biogenous iron oxide: BIO) was used as a support for immobilized palladium catalysts with organic cross-linkers. Palladium immobilized on BIO bearing imidazolium chloride delivered the desired biaryl products in sufficient yields in the Suzuki–Miyaura coupling reactions under solvent-free conditions and could be reused several times without significant loss of catalytic activity. It is shown that BIO can be exploited as a useful support for immobilization of palladium and the BIO-immobilized palladium catalyst effectively promotes the solvent-free Suzuki–Miyaura coupling reactions.

Bicyclic tertiary alcohols 1 bearing quaternary stereocenters at the two adjacent bridgehead positions were synthesized with high stereoselectivity via the intramolecular crossed benzoin reactions catalyzed by NHC organocatalysts.

Temperature control in lipase-catalyzed resolutions has been recently focused attention due to its simplicity and reliability for enhancement of the enantioselectivity. Lowering the reaction temperature usually increases the enantioselectivity. Lipase immobilized on porous ceramics was found to greatly accelerate the low-temperature reaction, and made the method practical. Our discovery, properties, and practical uses are summarized, and its applications are reviewed.

Presence of an unique atom-to-face alcoholic oxygen atom⋯π interaction between a pentafluorophenyl group and alcoholic oxygen (O⋯π) has been demonstrated by X-ray analysis of the novel chiral amino alcohol instead of the well-known interaction between usual aromatic ring and alcoholic hydrogen atom (OH⋯π).An alcoholic oxygen atom⋯π interaction has been observed by X-ray crystallographic analysis of the novel chiral amino alcohol bearing a pentafluorophenyl group.