The pursuit of palau'amine.

Alfred-Wegener-Institut für Polar- und Meeresforschung in der Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany. mkoeck@awi.de

Since its discovery in 1993, the marine natural product palau'amine has intrigued natural product chemists. Its exotic molecular architecture and purported bioactivity made it an ideal target for synthesis. However, as the years went by and related marine alkaloids were isolated, a skeptical eye was cast on the structure of palau'amine; recently these suspicions were confirmed and the structure of palau'amine revised. This Minireview gives a careful overview of the structural revision and its ramifications to both its biogenesis and total synthesis.

PMID: 17724780 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]