Total synthesis

A total synthesis describes the complete chemical synthesis of complex organic molecules - mostly of a natural product - made ​​up of simple, basic substances as possible commercially available.

Until the second half of the 20th century, the total synthesis of a natural product, the final proof of its structure was, above all, the configuration ( the stereochemical, ie spatial structure). Due to the modern methods of analysis (including nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and crystal structure analysis), this aspect of the total synthesis is now receded into the background. Total syntheses were and are still the driving force for the development of new and more efficient synthetic methods and provide the performance of organic synthesis to the test.

A method for synthesis planning is the retrosynthetic disconnection of the target molecule in synthons.

Classic examples are the total syntheses of quinine, cholesterol, cortisone, strychnine, lysergic acid, reserpine, chlorophyll, Colchicine, Vitamin B12 and prostaglandin F -2a, which were carried out 1945-1976 by ​​Robert B. Woodward. 1965 Woodward was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry.

Also the Nobel Prize for his contributions to the total synthesis and the development of retrosynthetic analysis was honored in 1990 Elias James Corey.

In the context of total synthesis also Kyriacos Costa Nicolaou must be mentioned. In addition to numerous syntheses own Nicolaou published except review articles and the book series Classics in Total Synthesis, which highlights some of the highlights of the total synthesis.