Semisynthesis

Semisynthesis prepares a compound by chemically modifying a substance obtained from a natural source or produced through biological processes. It combines biological production or isolation with chemical synthesis.

Natural product: A chemical compound produced by a living organism, often with a specialized biological function. Natural products are common starting materials for semisynthetic transformations.
Semisynthetic antibiotic: An antibiotic made by chemically modifying a naturally produced or isolated compound. This major drug class uses semisynthesis to alter activity, stability, or delivery.
Natural product chemistry: The study of chemical compounds produced by living organisms and their properties. Its methods identify and characterize many feedstocks used in semisynthesis.
Organic synthesis: The construction of organic compounds through planned chemical reactions. Semisynthesis uses organic synthesis for the transformations after biological sourcing.
Chemical synthesis: The production of compounds through chemical reactions, without requiring a biological production step. It contrasts with semisynthesis because the route need not begin with biological material.
Chemical modification: A chemical reaction that changes a molecule's structure or functional groups. Semisynthesis changes an isolated or biologically produced molecule through targeted reactions.
Penicillin V: A penicillin antibiotic produced by fermentation and used to treat susceptible bacterial infections. It illustrates industrial production of a natural antibiotic through microbial fermentation.
Fermentation: A metabolic process in which microorganisms convert substrates into products, often under controlled industrial conditions. Fermentation supplies compounds that can be isolated and chemically modified.
Biosynthesis: The production of chemical compounds by living organisms through enzyme-catalyzed pathways. Biosynthesis makes the starting material that semisynthesis subsequently modifies.
Total synthesis: The construction of a complex molecule from simpler starting materials through chemical reactions. Total synthesis builds the target molecule rather than modifying a complex biological precursor.

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