The potential biological applications of many natural products provide one very important reason for tackling their synthesis, and rising to the challenge of developing an elegant and creative approach to the preparation of complex molecules is perhaps more of a driving force than synthetic chemists would dare admit! This course discusses some of the issues that arise when devising a total synthesis, and outlines some of the strategies which have been used to realise the total synthesis of complex natural products. The course builds on lecture material delivered earlier in the programme. |