Natural products
The latest chemistry news and research on natural products, including their isolation, bioactivity, structure and biosynthesis, from the Royal Society of Chemistry's magazine, Chemistry World
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OpinionA chemist in the flower garden
The beautifully complex molecules plants produce are as inspiring as the blooms themselves
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ResearchUnprecedented natural products uncovered in springtails
Highly hetero-substituted benzenes serve as chemical deterrents for species of insect-like creatures
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ResearchPhotochemistry sheds light on the direct functionalisation of native sugars
New radical reaction reduces the number of protection and deprotection steps needed, accelerating discovery of sugar compounds
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OpinionHarnessing biodiversity through natural products research in the Philippines
Collaborative projects aim to produce cheaper and more effective medicines
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ResearchSoapbark tree’s biosynthetic pathway for vaccine adjuvant saponins
Researchers use genome mining and bioengineering techniques to map out route
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ResearchStreamlined synthesis of quinine showcases sustainable organic strategy
Five pot synthesis delivers highest yield of antimalarial to date
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ResearchChirality-flipping reaction could completely change total synthesis strategies
Photocatalytic reaction that inverts configuration of chiral carbon centres offers new stereochemical editing logic
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ResearchControversy surrounds corrected chemical structures
Researchers used machine learning-powered NMR prediction to correct improbable structures – but some of their revisions have been challenged
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Feature50 years of artemisinin
Jamie Durrani tells the story of how a wonder drug against malaria was discovered from a plant in a secret Chinese military project
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ResearchClever carbene synthesis replaces notoriously hazardous chemistry
Reactive carbon compounds can now be made from aldehydes instead of explosive or unstable reagents
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BusinessSoapbark branches out to fill essential role in vaccine recipes
The soapbark tree has long been used in traditional medicines, but is now coveted for some of our newest vaccines
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OpinionExit strategy
Overcoming a major setback showed Derek Lowe could make it through graduate school
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OpinionTaking the right inspiration from nature
Scientists need to be selective about their sources of inspiration
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ResearchExploiting evolution to explore chemical space shows promise for drug discovery
Using molecular trees – similar to family trees – chemists could predict how products will evolve to make new molecules
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ResearchUltraphosphates break decades-old anti-branching rule
Discovery of elusive branched phosphates’ unexpected stability means they could have played a role in prebiotic chemistry
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ResearchBlue light squeezes out heteroatoms from small rings
Photochemical ring editing reaction allows complete molecular shape change in a single step
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ResearchMolecular cryo-EM discovers error in 25-year-old natural product structure
Nobel prize-winning biomolecule imaging technique adapted to characterise chemical compounds faster and easier than NMR and x-ray
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ResearchNewly discovered marine compound is in a super-carbon-chain league of its own
Isolated from algae, Benthol A has 35 stereocentres
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ResearchMachine-designed natural product syntheses pass ‘Turing test’ for chemistry
Software updates allow Chematica to design sophisticated synthetic pathways, planning each step four or five moves ahead
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PodcastGlycyrrhizic acid
A sweet treat with a deadly trick for Halloween – glycyrrhizic acid is found in black liquorice and sweeter than sucrose, but can cause heart problems and even prove fatal if consumed in excess