CHEM 400: Natural Products Synthesis

• Prerequisite:  CHEM 360

Natural Products Synthesis will focus specifically on the total synthesis of various complex naturally-occurring products. Total synthesis is achieved through judicious combinations of transformations such as carbon-carbon bond formations, reduction/oxidation reactions, protections/deprotections and so on.  In this course we will analyze the strategies and synthetic methods employed for complex natural product synthesis. The practice of retrosynthetic analysis will be explored, showing how it enables chemists to outline the overall synthetic sequence, and identify key synthetic intermediates and potentially challenging transformations.  This course will focus on examples of completed total syntheses, analyzing the synthetic routes employed towards the target molecules. Different classes of natural products will be discussed, including terpenoids, alkaloids and polyketides/macrolides, and strategies unique to the synthesis of these classes will be highlighted. Examples discussed will typically have been synthesized on multiple occasions, with targets chosen based on the diversity of synthetic approaches. This course is intended to provide exposure to more advanced synthetic transformations and strategies available to the synthetic chemist for the total synthesis of natural products.

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