Formal Synthesis
A formal synthesis describes not the synthesis of the desired end product but the synthesis of a compound that is already known from the literature to be a precursor to that desired end product. If it is known from the literature that B can be converted to C then a novel route from compound A to compound B is a formal proof that A can also give access to C.
Read more about this topic: Total Synthesis
Famous quotes containing the words formal and/or synthesis:
“It is in the nature of allegory, as opposed to symbolism, to beg the question of absolute reality. The allegorist avails himself of a formal correspondence between “ideas” and “things,” both of which he assumes as given; he need not inquire whether either sphere is “real” or whether, in the final analysis, reality consists in their interaction.”
—Charles, Jr. Feidelson, U.S. educator, critic. Symbolism and American Literature, ch. 1, University of Chicago Press (1953)
“In order to begin an analysis, there must already be a synthesis present in the mind.”
—Johan Huizinga (1872–1945)