Tropinone is a nitrogen-containing bicyclic ketone in the tropane alkaloid family. Its bridged framework combines a carbonyl group with a ring amine, making it a compact target for studying how several bonds can be constructed in one planned sequence.
Robert Robinson's 1917 synthesis joined small precursors through a coordinated sequence of condensations, building the bridged skeleton instead of constructing each ring independently.[ref]
A Synthesis of Tropinone by Robert Robinson. Original synthesis and its multicomponent construction
The example remains instructive in organic synthesis: choosing mutually compatible reactive fragments can simplify a target more effectively than merely shortening each isolated step. New to topics? Read the docs here!