Catalysis for Total Synthesis: A Personal Account

Divining rod: Natural product synthesis often serves as a divining rod in our search for new and useful catalytic reactivity. This personal account—written in honor of the Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung on the occasion of its 100th anniversary—summarizes the major lines of research pursued in the author's laboratory, which show how total synthesis and research into basic organometallic chemistry cross-fertilize each other.