Recent advances in the synthesis of marine polycyclic ether natural products

Abstract

For more than twenty years, chemists and biologists have been fascinated by the highly complex molecular architectures and the diverse and potent biological activities of marine polycyclic ether natural products. Given the scarce availability of these intriguing substances from natural sources, total chemical synthesis is the only way to obtain sufficient quantities for biological investigation. This review describes recent synthetic advances in the field of marine polycyclic ether natural products and their successful implementation in total synthesis endeavors.