Abstract

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are metabolized in vivo resulting in the formation a range of oxidized products – metabolites. The metabolites generated are more water soluable and therefore easier to excrete from the system, but these compounds are also more toxic for the organism. A range of PAH metabolites have been synthesized and used in order to study their toxicity and further faith in vivo. Different synthetic strategies have been used in order to prepare the metabolites. Herein, the synthetic strategies utilized for the formation of environmental relevant metabolites of naphthalene, acenaphthene, fluorine, phenanthrene, and chrysene, the PAHs found with the highest concentration in crude oil, are described in detail.