Brevetoxin
Brevetoxin (PbTx), or brevetoxins, are a suite of cyclic polyether compounds produced naturally by a species of dinoflagellate known as Karenia brevis. Brevetoxins are neurotoxins that bind to voltage-gated sodium channels in nerve cells, leading to disruption of normal neurological processes and causing the illness clinically described as neurotoxic shellfish poisoning (NSP).
Although brevetoxins are most well-studied in K. brevis, they are also found in other species of Karenia and at least one large fish kill has been traced to brevetoxins in Chattonella.
Other Brevetoxins:
Brevetoxin-B was synthesized in 1995 by K. C. Nicolaou and coworkers in 123 steps with 91% average yield (final yield ~9·10−6). and in 2004 a total of 90 steps with an average 93% yield for each step (0.14% overall).
K. C. Nicolaou and coworkers reported their synthesis of Brevetoxin-1 in 1998. In 2009, Michael Crimmins and co-workers reported their synthesis of Brevetoxin-1 as well.
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