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ABSTRACT Biomimetic synthesis describes the field of organic chemistry that aims to emulate the natural, biosynthetic processes toward natural products. As well as providing insight into how

molecules are formed in nature, the benefits of this approach to total synthesis are numerous and extend beyond the gains typical of traditional synthesis. For example, using biosynthetic

proposals to design a synthetic route can highlight alternative methods to the desired target. The pursuit of biomimetic syntheses also promotes the development of new reactions to prove or

disprove a biosynthetic proposal or to unravel mechanistic implications of a proposed biosynthesis and can lead to the identification of new natural products. Here we look at some recent

compelling examples and examine how biomimetic synthesis has led to the discovery of new procedures and principles that would not have been found by other approaches. Access through your

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BEING VIEWED BY OTHERS RATCHETING SYNTHESIS Article 15 December 2023 BIOCATALYSIS Article 24 June 2021 GEOMETRIC DISTORTION AS AN ENABLING TOOL FOR ORGANIC SYNTHESIS Article 09 April 2025

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references ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We thank J.M. Ready and U.K.Tambar (University of Texas Southwestern) for critical reading of this manuscript. We gratefully acknowledge financial support by the

National Institutes of Health (CA 90349) and the Robert A. Welch Foundation (I-1422). AUTHOR INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * Department of Biochemistry, The University of Texas

Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Dallas, Texas, USA Mina Razzak & Jef K De Brabander Authors * Mina Razzak View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed 

Google Scholar * Jef K De Brabander View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar CORRESPONDING AUTHOR Correspondence to Jef K De Brabander. ETHICS

DECLARATIONS COMPETING INTERESTS The authors declare no competing financial interests. RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Razzak, M., De

Brabander, J. Lessons and revelations from biomimetic syntheses. _Nat Chem Biol_ 7, 865–875 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nchembio.709 Download citation * Published: 15 November 2011 *

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