Polycylic structures are found in nearly every biosynthetic class of natural products. In particular, an amazing range of rigid densely functionalized polycylic compounds are formed from simple polyisoprenoid precursors during terpene biosynthesis. Examples include Taxol (a widely used anticancer drug) and the ginkgolides (active ingredients in Ginkgo biloba).
We are developing a diversity-oriented synthesis in which multiple polycyclic scaffolds are synthesized in a single library. In analogy to the biosynthetic strategy, our synthetic approach begins with simple starting materials and uses a variety of reactions to generate diverse polycyclic products.
