Aflatoxin Total Synthesis

Aflatoxin total synthesis concerns the total synthesis of a group of organic compounds called aflatoxins. These compounds occur naturally in several fungi. As with other chemical compound targets in organic chemistry, the organic synthesis of aflatoxins serve different purposes. Traditionally it served to prove the structure of a complex biocompound in addition to evidence obtained from spectroscopy. It also demonstrates new concepts in organic chemistry (reagents, reaction types) and it also opens the way to molecular derivatives not found in nature. Last but not least a synthetic biocompound is a commercial alternative to isolating the compound from natural resources. Aflatoxins in particular add another dimension because it is suspected that they have been mass produced in the past from biological sources as part of a biological weapons program.

The synthesis of racemic aflatoxin B1 has been reported by Buechi et al. in 1967 and that of racemic aflatoxin B2 by Roberts et al. in 1968 The group of Barry Trost of Stanford University is responsible for the stereoselective total synthesis of (+)-Aflatoxin B₁ and B_2a in 2003. In 2005 the group of E. J. Corey of Harvard University presented the enantioselective synthesis of Aflatoxin B₂.