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A key challenge in the synthesis of diterpenoid alkaloids lies in identifying strategies that rapidly construct their multiply bridged polycyclic skeletons. Existing approaches to these structurally intricate secondary metabolites are discussed in the context of a "bond-network analysis" of molecular frameworks, which was originally devised by Corey some 40 years ago. The retrosynthesis plans that emerge from a topological analysis of the highly bridged frameworks of the diterpenoid alkaloids are discussed in the context of eight recent syntheses of hetidine and hetisine natural products and their derivatives. This Minireview highlights the extent to which network analyses of the type described here sufficed for designing synthesis plans, as well as areas where they had to be amalgamated with functional group oriented synthetic planning considerations., (© 2019 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.)

The secondary metabolites that comprise the diterpenoid alkaloids are categorized into C 18 , C 19 , and C 20 families depending on the number of contiguous carbon atoms that constitute their central framework. Herein, we detail our efforts to prepare these molecules by chemical synthesis, including a photochemical approach, and ultimately a bioinspired strategy that has resulted in the development of a unifying synthesis of one C 18 (weisaconitine D), one C 19 (liljestrandinine), and three C 20 (cochlearenine, paniculamine, and N-ethyl-1α-hydroxy-17-veratroyldictyzine) natural products from a common intermediate.