Death cap mushroom toxin synthesized: Route devised for α-amanitin, one of the deadliest known toxins.

The article reports that researchers have devised a synthesis of α-amanitin, a bicyclic octapeptide produced by the death-cap mushroom, which is one of the deadliest known peptide toxins. Topics discussed include key challenges in the synthesis including making 6-hydroxy-tryptathionone cross-link that could easily form an unwanted oxindole and forming a sulfoxide with the correct stereochemistry.