From sea to lab

(Wiley) With its vast numbers of different lifeforms, the sea is a largely unexplored source of natural products that could be starting points for new pharmaceuticals, such as the antitumor drugs trabectedin and lurbinectedin. Because only tiny amounts can be obtained from sea organisms, synthetic production is necessary. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, scientists have introduced a new, efficient synthetic route for these two drugs. A key step is the light-controlled activation of a carbon-hyd...