History
The first demonstration of organic total synthesis was Friedrich Wöhler's synthesis of urea in 1828, which demonstrated that organic molecules can be produced from inorganic precursors, and the first commercialized total synthesis was Gustaf Komppa's synthesis and industrial production of camphor in 1903. Early efforts focused on building chemicals which were extracted from biological sources, and using them to verify their biological activities—in this fashion, total synthesis was associated with disproving the existence of a vital force. As the sophistication of biology and chemistry became more understood, the primary purpose for total synthesis changed, although some total synthesis continues to be a tool for biological verification, for example if a compound contains ambiguous stereochemistry or to create analogs ("chemical mutations") to directly assess or improve the mechanism of biological activity.
Today, total synthesis is often justified as a playground for the development of new chemical reactions and routes, and highlights the sophistication of modern synthetic organic chemistry. Sometimes total synthesis inspires the development of novel mechanisms, catalysts, or techniques. Finally since a total synthesis project will often span a variety of reactions, it serves to prepare chemists for pursuits in process chemistry, where encyclopedic knowledge of chemical reactions and a strong and accurate sense of chemical intuition are necessary.
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