Total Synthesis of (+)-Caldaphnidine J
Jing Xu reports on the total synthesis of caldaphnidine J, a member of the group of daphniphyllum alkaloids.
“What makes a natural product attractive to synthetic chemists?” asks Professor Jing Xu from SUSTech, Shenzhen (P. R. of China). He mentioned that the answer is usually their biological activity, or their pharmaceutical potential, or their structural complexity that represents an intriguing synthetic challenge. It is Professor Xu’s opinion that the daphniphyllum alkaloids – isolated from plants of the genus Daphniphyllum – clearly belong to this category of compounds, since there is no doubt that they have long attracted a lot of attention from the synthetic community. The milestone synthetic achievements by Professor Clayton H. Heathcock three decades ago paved the way for the synthesis of various members of daphniphyllum alkaloids. There are more than 300 daphniphyllum alkaloids known to date, making up a structurally remarkably diversified and fascinating natural product family.
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