Development of the directed dihydroxylation reaction

The following account describes our work on the development and utilisation of the directed dihydroxylation reaction. Our preliminary thoughts and experiments are described, as is the refinement and rationalisation process that eventually led to discovery of the OsO4/TMEDA reagent. A comprehensive description of the directed dihydroxylation of a variety of alcohols and amides is included, together with a mechanistic interpretation of this oxidation and a guide to the use of our methodology in synthesis