Synthesis of Marine Natural Products and Molecules Inspired by Marine Substances

Book excerpt: Marine natural products are characterized by high chemical diversity, biochemical specificity, and other molecular properties that make them favorable as lead structures for drug discovery. In this field, one of the main problems is often the reduced natural availability of isolated substances, which can complicate both the structural characterization and possible future developments. For these reasons, the study of bioactive marine metabolites should rely on the development of chemical synthesis and synthetic strategies aimed at the preparation of pure compounds and analogs both for structural confirmation and/or for the large-scale preparation necessary for future applications. Moreover, natural products can be a crucial starting point for the preparation of molecules structurally inspired by the latter, opening the path to new classes of biologically active compounds with pharmacological potential. This book collects original research articles regarding synthetic strategies for secondary marine metabolites and/or analogs that favor applications of these molecules and/or solve structural challenges common in the field of natural substances.