CSIRO PUBLISHING | Australian Journal of Chemistry

Cornforth Reviews honour the memory of Sir John Warcup Cornforth (usually known as Kappa to friends and colleagues). These invited reviews advance knowledge in current key areas of research in chemistry. Sir John Warcup Cornforth Jr (1917–2013) was an Australian–British chemist who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1975 for his work on the stereochemistry of enzyme-catalysed reactions. He was renowned for solving the details of the chemistry of the complex biosynthetic pathway in which acetic acid is converted in nature into the steroid cholesterol. Sir John received many scientific awards and was appointed CBE in 1972 and knighted in 1975, and was appointed Companion of the Order of Australia (1991), named Australian of the Year (1975), and awarded the Centenary medal (2001)

Last Updated: 22 Aug 2024

CH24088The cyclobutene diester approach to alkyl citrate natural products

Nikolai P. Rossouw and Mark A. Rizzacasa

Schematics of various alkyl citrate natural products.

This review outlines the synthesis of alkyl citrate natural products using cyclobutene diester precursors. This highly stereoselective approach gives the citrate core with the correct oxidation state and allows for the synthesis of a large selection of these interesting natural products. Furthermore, stepwise oxidation provides access to the higher oxidised alkyl citrates from a common intermediate. (Image credit: Nikolai Rossouw.)

CH20371The Future of Retrosynthesis and Synthetic Planning: Algorithmic, Humanistic or the Interplay?

Craig M. Williams

and Madeleine A. Dallaston

pp. 291-326

Will the computer ever compete with human retrosynthetic design and the art of organic synthesis?

CH19550Polarity Inversion Catalysis by the 1,4-Addition of N-Heterocyclic Carbenes

Xuan B. Nguyen, Yuji Nakano and David W. Lupton

pp. 1-8

Polarity inversion through 1,4-addition of N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) to conjugate acceptors was first reported in 2006 and has subsequently evolved as an active subfield of NHC-organocatalysis. In this review, this emerging area of NHC-organocatalysis is discussed with comprehensive coverage.

CH14568Synthetic Amino Acids for Applications in Peptide Ligation–Desulfurization Chemistry

Lara R. Malins and Richard J. Payne

pp. 521-537

Native chemical ligation followed by desulfurization is a powerful strategy for the chemical synthesis of protein targets. This review focusses on the current synthetic approaches to access amino acid building blocks bearing suitably positioned β-, γ- or δ-thiol ligation auxiliaries that have greatly expanded the scope of the ligation–desulfurization manifold.