The Flu Pandemic of 1918 The “Spanish flu” pandemic that swept around the world from June 1918 to December 1919 killed between 50 and 100 million people (3-6% of the global population) % of those infected with the H1N1 influenza virus died compared to the normal flu fatality rate of 0.1%. The swine flu outbreak of 2009 also involved the H1N1 virus, but that strain was not easily passed from person to person as occurred in the 1918 pandemic.

Broad-spectrum antiviral agents are essential for defending against another severe flu strain while a vaccine is being developed. Oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza) are neuraminidase inhibitors. Neuraminidase is an enzyme whose action frees newly formed virus particles to infect other cells. Many governments have started stockpiling Tamiflu and Relenza as a precaution against another severe flu pandemic.

The Hayashi synthesis (Tokyo Univ. of Science) of Tamiflu Organocatalyis: chiral pyrrolidine-catalyzed reactions Cascade reactions Curtiss rearrangement Michael addtion and intramolecular Horner- Wadsworth-Emmons reaction

Rubicordifolin and Rubioncolin B In 1990 and 1993, Itokawa et al. reported the isolation of a class of dimeric naphthodihydroquinones from the Chinese herb Rubia oncotricha and the Indian herb Rubia cordifolia. These natural products were unusual in that they were obtained as racemates, implying a nonenzymatic pathway in their biosynthesis. Dirk Trauner synthesized these compounds using a nonenzymatic dimerization strategy thought to mimic the biosynthesis.

Key Concepts Biomimetic synthesis Cascade reactions Diels-Alder cycloadditions