PROTECTING GROUPS FOR ORGANIC SYNTHESIS

A protecting group (English protecting group - therefore often referred to as common abbreviation in formula schemes PG) is in chemistry a substituent which, during a more complicated, multi-step chemical synthesis in a molecule is introduced to a specific functional group to protect temporarily and so an undesirable reaction to prevent this group. After the desired reaction has been carried out elsewhere on the molecule, the protective group is split off again. For many functional groups several possible protective groups are known which differ in their stability and the conditions for their cleavage. In the synthesis of special classes of compounds with repeating functional groups - usually biomolecules such…