Iridoidinspired

Iridoidinspired refers to design principles, synthetic strategies, and applications that take inspiration from iridoids, a family of monoterpenoid natural products found in many plants. The term is used in organic synthesis, medicinal chemistry, and materials science to indicate that the target molecule or scaffold echoes features of iridoids, typically a rigid bicyclic core and defined stereochemistry. Iridoids are often present as glycosides and play roles in plant defense; their characteristic framework provides a rich source of stereochemical motifs for inspiration.

In practice, iridoidinspired approaches aim to harness the rigid, chiral architecture of iridoids to construct complex, enantioenriched scaffolds. This can guide asymmetric synthesis, spiro- and fused-ring architectures, and the development of libraries with defined three-dimensional shape. In medicinal chemistry, iridoidinspired motifs are used to explore biological space with conformationally constrained cores that can interact with enzymes and receptors.

Biosynthetically, iridoids arise from monoterpenoid pathways starting from geraniol and involving dedicated oxidoreductases and cyclization steps, a source of inspiration for biomimetic and chemoenzymatic methods.

Because iridoids are structurally diverse yet share a common rigid core, iridoidinspired design often emphasizes stereochemical control, retrosynthetic strategies that favor bicyclic assemblies, and the use of chiral pools or catalysts derived from iridoid chemistry.

See also: Iridoids, natural product synthesis, chiral pool, biomimetic synthesis.