BRSM
BRSM obtained his PhD in total synthesis in the UK, completing several brightly coloured natural products. After a postdoctoral stint at an Ivy League school, he remained in the US, where he now works as a process chemist at a major pharmaceutical company.
He occasionally blogs about organic synthesis and chemical history at brsmblog.com
- Opinion
(±)-Rhabdastrellic acid A
A triterpene that looks innocuous until it reveals the highly strained conformation of its rings
- Opinion
(+)-Microladallene B
A weird structure is enough to spark chemists’ interest, even without any obvious use
- Opinion
(‒)-Pavidolide B
An innovative approach to making five-membered carbon rings makes for a strikingly short synthesis
- Opinion
(+)-Pleuromutilin
Total synthesis is sometimes the only way to explore the chemical space around a natural product
- Opinion
(+)-Zincophorin methyl ester
New and old reactions combine for an elegant and concise synthesis
- Opinion
Batzelladine B
Taming basic and reactive nitrogen atoms makes alkaloids more attractive targets, says BRSM
- Opinion
(–)-Jiadifenolide
BRSM wonders what makes a route so good it becomes the last total synthesis of a complex target
- Opinion
Limaspermidine and deethylibophyllidine
Desymmetrisation offers a neat way to add tricky features, says BRSM
- Opinion
Rubriflordilactone A
Sometimes it’s worth building aromatics instead of buying them, says BRSM
- Opinion
Lycopodium alkaloids
Not all natural products are created equal. BRSM looks at a flexible route to some perennial favourites
