Solution-phase combinatorial synthesis using multicomponent Grignard reagents

Mixtures of up to 8 different alkyl Grignard reagents were prepared from the reaction of alkyl halides with magnesium. These multicomponent Grignard reagents were reacted with aldehydes, ketones or esters to produce mixtures of alcohols. Analysis of the product mixtures showed that from the reactions of aldehydes and ketones uniform mixtures of products were formed, while from the reaction with esters uniform libraries were only obtained after slow addition of the Grignard reagent.