PHD
  1. Inorganic chemistry  1.1. Coordination chemistry  1.1.1. Ligand field theory  1.1.2. Crystal field theory  1.1.3. Molecular Orbital Theory for Coordination Compounds  1.1.4. Stability of Coordination Compounds  1.1.5. Electronic spectra of coordination compounds  1.1.6. Isomerism in Coordination Compounds  1.1.7. Kinetics and mechanism of coordination reactions  1.2. Organometallic Chemistry  1.2.1. Metal Carbonyls  1.2.2. Metal alkyl and aryl  1.2.3. Fischer and Schrock carbonaceans  1.2.4. Oxidative Addition and Reductive Elimination  1.2.5. Metal Hydrides  1.2.6. Catalysis by organometallic compounds  1.2.7. Metallocenes and Sandwich Complexes  1.2.8. CH activation  1.3. Solid state chemistry  1.3.1. Crystal structures and lattices  1.3.2. Band theory and electrical properties  1.3.3. Defects in the crystal  1.3.4. Synthesis of solid state materials  1.3.5. Magnetic and optical properties of solids  1.3.6. Superconductivity  1.3.7. Solid state ionics  1.4. Bio-inorganic chemistry  1.4.1. Metalloproteins and enzymes  1.4.2. Metal ion transport and storage  1.4.3. The role of metals in medicine  1.4.4. Bioinspired catalysis  1.4.5. Metal–DNA interactions  1.4.6. Metal Complexes in Medical Science  1.5. Lanthanides and Actinides  1.5.1. Electronic configuration and oxidation states in lanthanides and actinides  1.5.2. Spectral and Magnetic Properties in Lanthanides and Actinides  1.5.3. Separation and Extraction of Lanthanides and Actinides  1.5.4. Coordination chemistry of f-block elements  1.6. Main Group Chemistry  1.6.1. Chemistry of boron compounds  1.6.2. Chemistry of Silicon and Germanium Compounds  1.6.3. Chemistry of Phosphorus and Sulfur Compounds  1.6.4. Organosilicon chemistry  1.6.5. Noble Gas Chemistry
  2. Organic chemistry  2.1. Reaction mechanism  2.1.1. Nucleophilic substitution reactions  2.1.2. Electrophilic addition and substitution reactions  2.1.3. Elimination reactions  2.1.4. Rearrangement reactions  2.1.5. Radical reactions  2.1.6. Pericyclic Reactions  2.1.7. Photochemical reactions  2.2. Stereoscopic  2.2.1. Chirality and optical activity  2.2.2. Structural analysis  2.2.3. Stereoelectronic effects  2.2.4. Asymmetric synthesis  2.2.5. Dynamic Stereochemistry  2.3. Organometallic Chemistry in Organic Synthesis  2.3.1. Organolithium and organomagnesium reagents  2.3.2. Transition metal catalyzed coupling reactions  2.3.3. Palladium-catalyzed reactions  2.3.4. Olefin Metathesis  2.3.5. Gold and silver catalysis  2.4. Natural products chemistry  2.4.1. Alkaloids and terpenoids  2.4.2. Steroids and Flavonoids  2.4.3. Total synthesis of natural products  2.4.4. Biosynthesis of natural products  2.5. Supramolecular Chemistry  2.5.1. Host-Guest Chemistry  2.5.2. Self-assembly and molecular recognition  2.5.3. Supramolecular Catalysis  2.5.4. Molecular Machines
  3. Physical Chemistry  3.1. Thermodynamics  3.1.1. Laws of Thermodynamics  3.1.2. Chemical Potential and Equilibrium  3.1.3. Statistical thermodynamics  3.1.4. Non-equilibrium thermodynamics  3.2. Quantum Chemistry  3.2.1. Schrödinger equation and its applications  3.2.2. Molecular orbital theory  3.2.3. Density functional theory  3.2.4. Post-Hartree–Fock methods  3.3. Chemical kinetics  3.3.1. Reaction rate theory  3.3.2. Mechanism and rate laws  3.3.3. Catalysis and enzyme kinetics  3.3.4. Reaction dynamics  3.4. Spectroscopy and molecular structure  3.4.1. Infrared Spectroscopy  3.4.2. UV-visible spectroscopy  3.4.3. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy  3.4.4. Mass Spectrometry  3.4.5. Raman Spectroscopy  3.5. Surface and Colloid Chemistry  3.5.1. Absorption and Catalysis  3.5.2. Surfactants and micelles  3.5.3. Colloidal Stability  3.5.4. Nanomaterials and Interfaces
  4. Analytical chemistry  4.1. Chromatography  4.1.1. Gas Chromatography  4.1.2. High Performance Liquid Chromatography  4.1.3. Thin Layer Chromatography  4.1.4. Ion Chromatography  4.2. Electroanalytical techniques  4.2.1. Voltammetry and Polarography  4.2.2. Conductometry and potentiometry  4.2.3. Colometry  4.3. Spectroscopic Methods  4.3.1. Atomic absorption spectroscopy  4.3.2. Fluorescence Spectroscopy  4.3.3. X-ray diffraction  4.3.4. Electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy  4.4. Chemometrics  4.4.1. Data processing and statistical methods  4.4.2. Multidisciplinary analysis  4.4.3. Machine Learning in Analytical Chemistry
  5. Theoretical and Computational Chemistry  5.1. Molecular dynamics simulation  5.2. Quantum chemistry methods  5.3. Computational drug design  5.4. Machine Learning in Chemistry  5.5. Ab initio molecular dynamics
  6. Biophysics and Medicinal Chemistry  6.1. Drug discovery and design  6.2. Enzyme kinetics and inhibition  6.3. Chemical biology approach  6.4. Protein-ligand interactions  6.5. Bioorthogonal chemistry
  7. Materials chemistry  7.1. Polymer chemistry  7.1.1. Polymerization mechanism  7.1.2. Functional Polymers  7.1.3. Biodegradable Polymer  7.1.4. Conducting and semiconducting polymers  7.2. Nano Chemistry  7.2.1. Nanoparticles and nanostructures  7.2.2. Carbon-based nanomaterials  7.2.3. Quantum dots  7.3. Energy and Environmental Chemistry  7.3.1. Battery and Fuel Cell Chemistry  7.3.2. Green chemistry and sustainable materials  7.3.3. Photocatalysis

PHD → Organic chemistry → Natural products chemistry ↓


Total synthesis of natural products


Total synthesis of natural products is a field within organic chemistry that deals with the laboratory preparation of complex chemical compounds that are originally isolated from natural sources. These compounds often have significant biological activity and are important in the development of pharmaceuticals, agricultural chemicals, and other valuable products.

The process of total synthesis is not just about making these molecules; it also involves understanding and emulating the complex pathways that nature uses to create these substances. Researchers in this field aim to produce these compounds efficiently and sustainably, which often requires the development of ingenious strategies and new chemical reactions.

Understanding natural products

Natural products are chemical compounds or substances produced by living organisms. They are usually secondary metabolites, meaning they are not directly involved in the organism's normal growth, development, or reproduction. Instead, they may provide properties such as defense mechanisms against predators, competition, or diseases. Examples include alkaloids, terpenes, and polyketides.

Objectives of total synthesis

The primary goal of total synthesis is to create a natural product molecule that is structurally and stereochemically identical to a compound found in nature. This process has several purposes:

  • Validation: Confirming the structure of a natural compound determined by separation studies.
  • New methods: Developing new synthetic techniques, reagents, or strategies.
  • Biological studies: To provide sufficient material of a compound for detailed biological studies.
  • Analog generation: Producing derivatives for structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies.

Key strategies in total synthesis

Synthetic chemists use a variety of strategic approaches to achieve total synthesis:

  • Linear synthesis: This approach involves a series of sequential reactions, where each step adds a fragment to the molecule. It is straightforward, but can be inefficient with long synthesis routes.
  • Convergent synthesis: Divergent pathways create intermediates that are combined in later steps of the synthesis. This can improve efficiency and yield by building complex structures from simpler subunits.
  • Biomimetic synthesis: This strategy attempts to imitate natural biosynthetic pathways. This can provide insight into nature's own methods and lead to new synthesis routes.
  • Retrosynthetic analysis: This is a problem-solving technique where chemists work backwards from the target molecule to simpler precursor structures. Each step is chosen to simplify the structure until readily available starting materials are reached.

Visualization of retrosynthetic analysis

Target Molecules Intermediate 1 Intermediate 2 pioneer

Important techniques and terms

  • Protective groups: These groups are temporarily added to hide reactive sites in a molecule. They prevent unwanted reactions and are removed in later steps.
  • Stereochemistry: The study of the three-dimensional arrangement of atoms within molecules. This distinguishes stereoisomers, which have the same molecular formula but different spatial arrangements.
  • Coupling reactions: These reactions join components to form bonds. Examples include the Suzuki and Heck reactions which are used to form carbon-carbon bonds.

Example of simple total synthesis

Consider the synthetic route to make a compound called aspirin, which is simpler than many natural products but follows the same principles:

// Synthesis steps for aspirin: 1. Salicylic acid + Acetic anhydride → Aspirin + Acetic acid

In this reaction, the acetyl group from acetic anhydride is transferred to the hydroxyl group of salicylic acid, forming the ester linkage in aspirin.

Visual example of aspirin synthesis

salicylic acid , Acetic Anhydride Aspirin , acetic acid

Challenges in total synthesis

Total synthesis can present many challenges. One of the main difficulties is the complexity of natural products, which may contain multiple chiral centers, diverse functional groups, and densely packed, complex structures. Additionally, achieving high yield and selectivity for each step can be challenging.

In addition, some natural products are synthesized in small quantities within organisms, making initial isolation challenging. The development of efficient synthetic routes allows researchers not only to produce these compounds in large quantities but also to modify their structure to enhance their properties or reduce toxicity.

Conclusion

Total synthesis of natural products is an important exercise in ingenuity, patience, and technique in the field of organic chemistry. Successful synthesis confirms the structure of natural products, allows the preparation of large quantities of biologically active molecules, and helps chemists learn about new ways to build complex molecules. This discipline requires a deep understanding of chemistry and creative problem-solving, and it continues to evolve as new discoveries and technologies emerge.


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Total synthesis of natural products

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