Lessons and revelations from biomimetic syntheses

Mina Razzak, Jef K. De Brabander

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

99 Scopus citations

Abstract

Biomimetic synthesis describes the field of organic chemistry that aims to emulate the natural, biosynthetic processes toward natural products. As well as providing insight into how molecules are formed in nature, the benefits of this approach to total synthesis are numerous and extend beyond the gains typical of traditional synthesis. For example, using biosynthetic proposals to design a synthetic route can highlight alternative methods to the desired target. The pursuit of biomimetic syntheses also promotes the development of new reactions to prove or disprove a biosynthetic proposal or to unravel mechanistic implications of a proposed biosynthesis and can lead to the identification of new natural products. Here we look at some recent compelling examples and examine how biomimetic synthesis has led to the discovery of new procedures and principles that would not have been found by other approaches.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)865-875
Number of pages11
JournalNature chemical biology
Volume7
Issue number12
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2011

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Biology

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