Five Of The Most Useful Transformations In Modern Organic Synthesis

By Dr. Paolo Braiuca, Director, Global Market Development Laboratory Chemicals Division – Fine Chemical Products

Incredible creativity has gone into translating the decades of chemical knowledge since World War II, allowing new discoveries from a toolbox of efficient reactions, and enabling the synthesis of very complex, multi-functional molecules. While new inventions occasionally provide leaps forward that profoundly change the chemical landscape, innovation is driven by the sum of small steps in the applications and reaction conditions, often inspired by research in adjacent fields.

The five most widely used reactions in medicinal chemistry include a mix of “traditional” reactions found in year one chemistry classrooms and sophisticated newer transformations: aromatic nucleophilic substitution (SNAr), amination/alkylation of amines, amine protection and deprotection, amide synthesis, and C-C cross-coupling.