'Total Synthesis of Natural Products' is written and edited by some of today's leaders in organic chemistry. Eleven chapters cover a range of natural products, from steroids to alkaloids. Each chapter contains an introduction to the natural product in question, descriptions of its biological and pharmacological properties and outlines of total synthesis procedures already carried out. Particular emphasis is placed on novel methodologies developed by the respective authors and their research groups. This text is ideal for graduate and advanced undergraduate students, as well as organic chemists in academia and industry.

Continuing the tradition of providing significant and interesting procedures, Organic Syntheses, Collective Volume XII is a compilation of revised editions of Annual Volumes 85 through 89. The contents of this volume are organized by primarily by reaction type, with the precise classification made according to the bias of the editor, who attempted to ascertain the primary purpose or utility of the procedure.

The Pauson-Khand reaction is an important reaction in the field of organic chemistry. It involves the transition-metal catalysed cycloaddition of an alkyne, an alkene and carbon monoxide, to produce cyclopentenones. The importance of this reaction originates from its high value in transforming simple components into the synthetically useful cyclopentenone unit, in which a high degree of molecular complexity can be achieved in a single step, with impressive stereochemical and regiochemical control. The Pauson-Khand Reaction investigates the nature and many variations of this reaction. Topics covered include: the mechanisms of Pauson‐Khand-type reactions non chiral intramolecular and intermolecular versions of Pauson‐Khand reactions asymmetric Pauson‐Khand reaction using chiral auxiliaries the enantioselective Pauson‐Khand reaction Pauson‐Khand reactions catalysed by metals other than cobalt unconventional Pauson‐Khand reactions the Pauson‐Khand reaction in total synthesis Presenting a comprehensive overview of this fundamental reaction, The Pauson-Khand Reaction will find a place on the bookshelves of any organic or organometallic chemist.

This thesis presents a general approach to accessing nitrogen-substituted hetero- and carbocycles. In short, the annulation reactions developed in the thesis make it possible to access nitrogen-substituted four-, five- and six-membered rings, all essential building blocks for the synthesis of bioactive molecules. Many natural products display a saturated polycyclic core allowing a well-defined arrangement of functional groups in space. As such, they can interact with biological targets with a high degree of affinity and selectivity, surpassing many synthetic drugs. Nevertheless, the efficient synthesis of such complex ring systems poses a challenge for organic chemistry. Through careful tuning of the electronic properties of a nitrogen donor group and a diester acceptor group, the first [3+2] annulation reaction between aminocyclopropanes and enol ethers or carbonyl compounds is now possible. The reaction proceeded under mild catalytic conditions, and the building blocks obtained can be found at the core of bioactive alkaloids, drugs such as Ramipril and biomolecules such as DNA and RNA. Thanks to the dynamic kinetic asymmetric annulation of aminocyclopropanes with enol ethers and aldehydes, access to enantioenriched compounds is also now possible. Lastly, a synthesis of donor-acceptor aminocyclobutanes via [2+2] cycloaddition using a cheap iron catalyst was developed, allowing them to be used in [4+2] annulations to access cyclohexylamines.

The chemistry of heterocycles is an important branch of organic chemistry. This is due to the fact that a large number of natural products, e. g. hormones, antibiotics, vitamins, etc. are composed of heterocyclic structures. Often, these compounds show beneficial properties and are therefore applied as pharmaceuticals to treat diseases or as insecticides, herbicides or fungicides in crop protection. This volume presents important pharmaceuticals. Each of the 20 chapters covers in a concise manner one class of heterocycles, clearly structuredas follows: * Structural formulas of most important examples (market products) * Short background of history or discovery * Typical syntheses of important examples * Mode of action * Characteristic biological activity * Structure-activity relationship * Additional chemistry information (e.g. further transformations, alternative syntheses, metabolic pathways, etc.) * References. A valuable one-stop reference source for researchers in academia and industry as well as for graduate students with career aspirations in the pharmaceutical chemistry.

Chiral spirolactones, including spiropropyllactones, spirobutyrolactones, and spirovalerolactones, are important heterocyclic frameworks that attracted the attention of organic and medicinal chemists because these motifs constitute the core structure of several natural products and bioactive molecules. The absolute configuration and the substituents on the fully substituted spirocyclic stereocenter of the lactone can potentially enhance specificity for ligand-protein binding and enhance bioavailability, potency, and metabolic stability. So, intensive attention from chemists has been paid to the synthetic methods leading to such prominent structural motifs. The synthetic methods can be divided into two main classes. The first approach takes advantage of the presence of the existing lactone structure and focuses on its functionalization. The second approach is the lactone framework constructed from various precursors in a direct spirolactonization reaction. In this review, for convenience in reading, the recent advances in the synthesis of spirolactones are summarized and discussed according to the two major organocatalytic asymmetric synthetic routes: (i) using the lactone-related frameworks as building blocks; and (ii) direct spirolactonization reaction using various reagents. This review also describes both the mechanisms and related transformations, and gives some insights into challenging issues in this research field, which will enlighten the future development of this field.

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