Conclusion

A framework and a few guidelines have just been spelled out in this article to help implement bio-inspired strategies in the total synthesis of natural substances. We have just clearly placed strategies at the heart of the methodologies and applications of so-called fine organic chemistry aimed at producing (as efficiently as possible) small molecules that can be complex in structure. The article [PHA 2 006] , devoted to examples, gets to the heart of the matter. In addition to demonstrating the benefits of the strategy in concrete terms, it answers further questions (e.g. can these strategies predict biosynthesis pathways?) and sets out the technological challenges for the years to come, which may not have been mentioned in this article.