Semisynthesis
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Semisynthesis or partial chemical synthesis is a type of chemical synthesis that uses chemical compounds isolated from natural sources (e.g., microbial cell cultures or plant material) as the starting materials to produce other novel compounds with distinct chemical and medicinal properties. These novel compounds are generally high molecular weight or have complex molecular structure, more so than those produced by total synthesis from simple starting materials. Semisynthesis is a means of preparing many medicines more cheaply than if by total synthesis, because fewer chemical steps are necessary.
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