Natural Product Synthesis by Rhodium and Ruthenium‐Catalyzed CH Activation

Abstract

Abstract Rhodium‐catalyzed CH activation has attracted significant attention among the synthetic community due to high catalytic reactivity, stability, selectivity, and decent functional group compatibility. The utility of rhodium‐catalyzed CH activation in the field of total synthesis has become an alternative and efficient strategy to the traditional synthetic methods. The application of site‐selective synthetic methodologies using rhodium catalysis has set the stage for innovative retrosynthetic disconnections and provides rapid access to various natural products for drug discovery and chemical biology. Various rhodium‐based catalytic systems showed their remarkable reactivity potential for CH functionalization reactions and their applications in the total synthesis of natural products are well documented. In this article, recent progress in the Rh‐catalyzed CH activation for the efficient synthesis of various bioactive natural products has been reviewed, and also the application of a few Ru‐catalyzed CH activation for total syntheses and Co‐catalyzed CH activation for late‐stage functionalization of biologically active compounds and natural products has been included.