New approach in the synthesis of complex natural substances

New approach for total synthesis paves the way for new drug developments

06-May-2024 - They are found as fragrances in cosmetics or as flavorings in food, and form the basis of new medications: Terpenes are natural substances that occur in plants, insects and sea sponges. They are difficult to produce synthetically. However, chemists at the University of Basel are now introducing a ...

Productive Cascade

Total synthesis of the sesquiterpene agarozizanol B

12-Oct-2021 - Starting from available chemicals, a German team of researchers successfully completed the total synthesis of agarozizanol B, an interesting natural substance found in agarwood. As described in the journal Angewandte Chemie, the key sequence in the relatively short synthetic pathway is a ...

The AETX files: Work to unravel widespread bald eagle fatalities gathers pace

Scientists succeed in totally synthesizing eagle killer venom

15-Jul-2021 - This March, the discovery of the toxic natural substance aetocthonotoxin (AETX) attracted huge media attention. In a study published in Science, pharmacists from Halle University proved the role of this substance in triggering mass species extinctions among American bald eagles and other birds of ...

Making Puffer Fish Toxin in a Flask

Total synthesis of tetrodotoxin

10-Mar-2020 - In Japan, puffer fish is considered a delicacy, but the tickle to the taste buds comes with a tickle to the nerves: fugu contains tetrodotoxin, a strong nerve toxin. In low doses, tetrodotoxin is shown in clinical trials to be a replacement for opioids for relieving cancer related pain. In the ...

A new strategy for the synthesis of complex natural products

11-Oct-2019 - Chemists from the University of Basel have succeeded in synthesizing two complex natural products from the group of dithiodiketopiperazines (DTPs). For this, they employed a new strategy based on “C-H bond activation,” resulting in a short and high yielding route. In the of the Journal of the ...

From Sea to Lab

Total synthesis of marine antitumor agents trabectedin and lurbinectedin

20-Feb-2019 - With its vast numbers of different lifeforms, the sea is a largely unexplored source of natural products that could be starting points for new pharmaceuticals, such as the antitumor drugs trabectedin and lurbinectedin. Because only tiny amounts can be obtained from sea organisms, synthetic ...

Garlic ingredient from the lab bench

Total synthesis of ajoene, a biologically active component in oil extracts of garlic

24-Aug-2018 - Fresh garlic extracts contain a variety of healthy organosulfur compounds, among which ajoene forms a major oil-extractable ingredient. Now, chemists in the United Kingdom have synthesized ajoene from readily available components for the first time. The results show that ajoene is accessible on a ...

Rice University lab simplifies total synthesis of anti-cancer agent

24-May-2016 - The lab of Rice University synthetic organic chemist K.C. Nicolaou has reported the streamlined total synthesis of delta12-prostaglandin J3, a molecule previously claimed to kill leukemic cancer cells. The researchers said their work sets the stage for large-scale synthesis of the cytotoxic ...

Chemists develop new strategy to synthesize molecule

12-Apr-2016 - A team of researchers led by Professor Pauline Chiu from Department of Chemistry, the University of Hong Kong, has successfully achieved a formal total synthesis of cortistatin A, a molecule which could help mitigate the growth of cancer tumours. This novel strategy of synthesizing the molecule ...

Chemists find a way to synthesize complex plant molecule phorbol and its derivatives

30-Mar-2016 - In a landmark feat of chemical synthesis, scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have developed a 19-step process for making the naturally occurring compound phorbol in the laboratory, in quantities that are useful for pharmaceutical research. Phorbol has long been considered a sort ...