3月22日，《自然-化学》杂志（Nature Chemistry）为纪念创刊十周年，特邀了全球58位化学家以Charting a course for chemistry（化学探索之路）为题发表了纪念专题论文（Feature），提出化学各领域中他们认为的最激动人心、最有趣或最具挑战的研究蓝图。其中，上海有机所游书力研究员、李昂研究员分别受邀作为署名作者，提出合成化学领域的挑战性问题。 

　　游书力：精准合成无疑是合成化学追求的一个首要目标。化学家应当思考如何最大化地将包括化石资源、生物质在内的大宗化学原料，利用催化反应高效高选择性地合成多样性的目标化合物。我个人尤为期待看到惰性化学键和惰性化学体系的高效高选择性转化的进一步发展，以及高精度理论计算和人工智能技术将如何影响和改变化学研究过程。 

　　Precision synthesis is undoubtedly the premier goal in synthetic chemistry. Chemists should think how to maximize the utilization of bulk chemical feedstocks, including fossil resources and biomass, to enhance efficiency and selectivity during catalysed chemical transformations, and to promote the diversity of final products. Personally, I look forward to seeing further advances in highly efficient and selective transformations of inert chemical bonds and inert chemical systems and how the implementation of high-level theoretical calculations and artificial intelligence will fundamentally change organic chemistry. 

　　李昂：在天然产物合成领域，计算机辅助的合成路线设计有望成为一个愈发有趣的方向。对比于相对“平面”的药物分子，具有复杂立体化学的天然产物分子对于人工智能而言仍然是颇具挑战性的目标。对其生源网络的系统分析可能揭示出诸多以往被忽视的逆合成方式，这些具有“先天合理性”优势的合成策略有望显著提高计算机所设计合成路线的实用性和灵活性。另外，对应于酶促反应或反应级联的基因元件可能成为人工智能的一大利器。融合化学反应与酶促反应的合成路线在计算机辅助之下将更快成为天然产物合成领域中的常态。 

　　In the field of natural product synthesis, designing synthetic routes with the help of computers may become an increasingly attractive direction. In contrast to rather ‘flat’ pharmaceuticals, stereochemically complicated natural products remain challenging targets for computational methods. Strategies based on systematic analysis of biosynthetic networks to uncover underappreciated retrosyntheses could significantly improve the practicality and versatility of computer-designed routes. In addition, the gene clusters responsible for enzymatic reactions (or reaction cascades) in natural product biosynthesis could be an advantageous tool for computers, potentially making combined chemical and enzymatic routes more common in near future. 

　　原文链接：https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-019-0236-7