Chemistry & Chemical Technologies

NATURAL PRODUCT SYNTHESIS

The goal of natural product synthesis is to synthesise a complex target molecule that is analytically similar to the substance that occurs naturally and is known as a natural product.  The total synthesis of natural products has been the standard-bearer of chemical synthesis for the past century, and it has been the primary impetus behind the discovery of new chemical reactivity, the assessment of physical organic theories, the testing of the effectiveness of current synthetic methods, and the advancement of biology and medicine.  Anything created by life falls under the broadest definition of a natural product, which also includes biotic materials like wood and silk, bio-based materials like corn-starch and bio plastics, bodily fluids like milk and plant exudates, and other natural substances that were once found in living things (e.g. soil, coal). The cells, tissues, and secretions of microorganisms, plants, and animals can be used to make natural goods. Any one of these sources will yield a crude (unfractionated) extract with a variety of structurally unique and frequently new chemical components.