Organocatalysis is based on the concept of using simple organic molecules to promote asymmetric catalytic transformations. Similar to how nature promotes complex transformations in the presence of water and air, it was anticipated that the development of organocatalytic activation mechanisms would bring value to the chemical community. The creation of orthogonal and complementary activation modes has brought about the production of a variety of traditional and non-traditional chemistries. Despite its simplicity in concept, this area of chemistry laid dormant until the late 1990s when the term "organocatalysis" defined a series of disparate chemistries, and rationally designed transformations began to open up the field.

Based on the basic activation modes of iminium, enamine, hydrogen bonding, photoredox and SOMO catalysis, more than 150 new fundamental organic reactions have been developed to date. These novel reactions are the core synthetic transformations of Chiromics.