Syntheses of deuterium-labeled dihydroartemisinic acid (DHAA) isotopologues and mechanistic studies focused on elucidating the conversion of DHAA to artemisinin.

Dihydroartemisinic acid (DHAA), a sesquiterpenoid natural product from , converts to artemisinin, an anti-malarial natural product that contains an endoperoxide bridge. The endoperoxide moiety is responsible for the biological activity of artemisinin. Therefore, understanding the biosynthesis of this functional group could lead to the optimization of the process to produce this medicine.