Retro synthetic analysis

Retro-Synthetic Analysis (= Antithesis 193 3.1.5 Aromatic and Heterocyclic Compounds... 

When planning the synthesis of a compound using an organometallic reagent or indeed any synthesis the best approach is to reason backward from the product This method is called retrosynthetic analysis Retro synthetic analysis of 1 methylcyclohexanol suggests it can be prepared by the reaction of methylmagnesmm bromide and cyclohexanone... 

With these words, E. J. Corey defines for us the concept of retro-synthetic analysis for which he received the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1990. Nowadays, it has become routine to think about a target molecule in terms of its retrosynthetic analysis. Furthermore, it is hard to imagine how chemists developed synthetic strategies prior to the formulation of these concepts in the 1960s, without thinking, at least subconsciously, in these terms about complex organic structures. 

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