Weapons in Disguise—Activating Mechanisms and Protecting Group Chemistry in Nature

AbstractBioactive natural products often possess uniquely functionalized structures with unusual modes of action; however, the natural product itself is not always the active species. We discuss molecules that draw on protecting group chemistry or else require activation to unmask reactive centers, illustrating that nature is not only a source of complex structures but also a guide for elegant chemical transformations which provides ingenious chemical solutions for drug delivery.