Epic First Cocaine Synthesis in 25 Steps (Educational)

Cocaine is intertwined with the fabric of society and science in more profound ways than most realize. Join us to hear about 1) current data on cocaine use, 2) history and discovery of cocaine, 3) the first landmark total synthesis of cocaine by Richard Wilstätter, and 4) other evolutions of (bio)chemical synthesis (Robinson, Noyori). Note that we do not cover biological origins, isolation or other aspects in detail.

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Key references:
- UNODC, Global report on Cocaine 2023 (United Nations publications, 2023)
- Estimating the incidence of cocaine use and mortality with music lyrics about cocaine | npj Digital Medicine 2021, 4, 100
- Cocaine: An Updated Overview on Chemistry, Detection, Biokinetics, and Pharmacotoxicological Aspects including Abuse Pattern | Toxins 2022, 14, 278
- DARK Classics in Chemical Neuroscience: Cocaine | ACS Chem Neurosci 2018, 9, 2358
- Cocaine Use Disorder (CUD): Current Clinical Perspectives | Subst Abuse Rehabil. 2022; 13: 25
- Ueber die Einwirkung des braunen Chlorschwefels auf Elaylgas | Justus Liebigs Annalen 1860, 113, 288 (not 257 like in the video, sorry!)
- Synthese des Tropidins | Ber. Dtsch. Chem. Ges. 1901, 34, 129
- Ueber die Umwandlung von Tropidin in Tropin | Ber. Dtsch. Chem. Ges 1902, 35, 1870
- Umwandlung von Tropidin in Tropin | Ber. Dtsch. Chem. Ges 1902, 35, 2295
- Synthese der activen Coniine | Ber. Dtsch. Chem. Ges 1886, 19, 2578
- Richard Willstätter and the 1915 Nobel Prize in Chemistry | Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2015, 54, 11910
- A synthesis of tropinone | J. Chem. Soc., Trans., 1917,111, 762
- New, general synthesis of tropane alkaloids | JACS 1974, 96, 3336
- Elucidation of tropane alkaloid biosynthesis in Erythroxylum coca using a microbial pathway discovery platform | PNAS 2022, 119, e2215372119
- Discovery and Engineering of the Cocaine Biosynthetic Pathway | JACS 2022, 144, 22000 (not 21809)

Some recommended books on organic synthesis:
- Clayden, Greeves, Warren; Organic Chemistry (basic organic chemistry knowledge)
- Wyatt, Warren; Organic Synthesis: The Disconnection Approach (excellent introduction to retrosynthesis)
- Kurti, Czako; Strategic Applications of Named Reactions in Organic Synthesis (extensive toolkit of functional group reactions and applications thereof with common conditions)
- Nicolaou; Classics in Total Synthesis 1-3 (the ultimate total synthesis trilogy)
- Nicolaou; Molecules That Changed the World (the world's most important molecules and their impact on everyday life)
- Carreira, Kvaerno; Classics in Stereoselective Synthesis (compilation of the groundbreaking methods of stereoselective synthesis and application to synthesis of stereochemically complex structures)