Greener approaches to organic synthesis using microreactor technology

The unique aspects of microreactor that make them efficient tools for organic chemistry on both small and large scale have been presented. The types of reactions that have been run in microreactors are also surveyed. These reactions include: stoichiometric reactions that include carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions, oxidations and reductions, heterocycle formations, carbon-nitrogen and carbon-oxygen bond-forming reactions, flouorinations, nitration reactions, reactions with diazo reagents, polymerizations, photochemical reactions, precipitate-forming reactions, and electrosynthesis; and the catalytic reactions like carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions, catalytic oxidations and reductions, organocatalysts reactions, and enzymatic reactions. The increased control over microreactor reactions in the form of thermal stability and mixing control means that new reactions can be made more reproducible from inception, and may offer better regioselectivity and chemical selectivity than traditional batch synthesis.