Enabler synthesis/optimization

A diastereoselective addition of H-phosphonates to L-phenylalanine-derived aldehyde 53 was a key step in the synthesis of a series of peptidomimetic renin inhibitors of type 55 (Scheme 47.13). The reaction conditions were optimized with respect to the solvent and the base used. The best results were obtained with Karl Fischer titration (KF) in A,A-dimethylformamide (DMF), that enabled synthesis of hydroxyphosphonate 54 in dr of 12 1. Later, other phosphorus nucleophiles, including phosphinates and... 

The strategies explored and defined in the various examples presented open a way for wider application of microwave chemistry in industry. The most important problem for chemists today (in particular, drug discovery chemists) is to scale-up microwave chemistry reactions for a large variety of synthetic reactions with minimal optimization of the procedures for scale-up. At the moment, there is a growing demand from industry to scale-up microwave-assisted chemical reactions, which is pushing the major suppliers of microwave reactors to develop new systems. In the next few years, these new systems will evolve to enable reproducible and routine kilogram-scale microwave-assisted synthesis. 

It must be pointed out that formation and stabihzation of nanoparticles in reversed micelles are the result of a delicate equilibrium among many factors. In addition, lacking a general theory enabling the selection a priori of the optimal conditions for the synthesis of nanoparticles of a given material with the wanted properties, stable nanoparticles containing w/o microemulsions can be achieved only in some system-specific and experimentally selected conditions. 

Figure 8.17. Hydrocarbon distribution of the products formed by Fischer-Tropsch synthesis over cobalt-based catalysts and by additional hydrocracking, illustrating how a two-stage concept enables optimization of diesel fuel yield. [Adapted from S.T. Sie,...

Acryl amide is an important bulk chemical used in coagulators, soil conditioners and stock additives. The chemical synthesis has several drawbacks because the rate of acryl amide formation is lower than the formation of the by-product acrylic acid [54]. Further, the double bonds of the reactants and products cause by-product formations as well as formation of polymerization products. As a result of optimization with methods of molecular engineering, a very high activity of the biocatalyst nitrile hydratase at low temperature is yielded, enabling a successful biotransformation that is superior to the chemical route. Here, the synthesis is carried out at a low temperature of about 5°C, showing a conversion of 100%. 

The reaction conditions should be optimized prior to scale-up. As the in vivo system is mainly used for initial metabolite characterization, the goal of reaction optimization is finding suitable conditions (not necessary the optimal conditions) to enable rapid synthesis of small amounts of the desired metabolite at a reasonable cost. 

The Anton Paar Synthos 3000 (Fig. 3.16 and Table 3.5) is the most recent multi-mode instrument to come onto the market. It is a microwave reactor dedicated for scaled-up synthesis in quantities of up to approximately 250 g per run and designed for chemistry under high-pressure and high-temperature conditions. The instrument enables direct scaling-up of already elaborated and optimized reaction protocols from single-mode cavities without changing the reaction parameters. 

Integrating chemical analysis methods and physical sensors with microreactors enables monitoring of reaction conditions and composition. This ability renders instrumented microreactors powerful tools for determining chemical kinetics and identifying optimal conditions for chemical reactions. The latter can be achieved by automated feedback-controlled optimization of reaction conditions, which greatly reduces time and materials costs associated with the development of chemical synthesis procedures. 

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