There are two methods explored to synthesize michellamines A and B. The first one, originally synthesized in 1994, is a retrosynthesis that leads to a biomimetic pathway that uses the construction of naphthalene/isoquinoline bonds before the naphthalene/naphthalene axis. The second method, originally synthesized only a few montes after the first method, is a complementary pathway that would use the naphthalene/naphthalene axis after it is created and add the two isoquinoline moieties.
