Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Synthesis of Serratezomine A (an alkaloid)...

As synthetic chemists we are aware that, how difficult is to syntheize the natural products with lots of stereochemistry involved. Congrats Dr. Jeffrey N. Johnston et.al., for their achievement in synthesising Serratezomine A. Serratezomine A is the natural compound (alkaloid), found in Lycopodium serratum(flowerless plant used in homeopathic medicine to treat a wide variety of ailments).

The longest linear sequence in the Serratezomine A synthesis is 15 steps and it has an overall yield of 1.7 percent, Johnston says. That is an average yield of 77 percent per step. The chemists kept the sequence this short by using a strategy called convergence. They prepared one of the key fragments in the synthesis in parallel to the main sequence.

It took six years to develop the process because the researchers had to invent some entirely new chemical methods to complete the synthesis. These methods should make it easier to synthesize other Lycopodium alkaloids as well as other natural compounds with therapeutic potential. The same compound is being tested for its anticancer activity. Congrats Dr. Jeffrey.. The resarch finds its importance because of its synthetic novelty....

Source:http://www.vanderbilt.edu/exploration/text/index.php?action=view_section&id=1487&story_id=367&images=

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