The Application of Micro Reactors for Chemical Synthesis: How small is required?


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Drug discovery is a very time consuming process, with one of the slowest steps being the synthesis and purification of candidates. Several companies have acknowledged that the miniaturisation of chemical reactors offer many advantages of relevance to the pharmaceutical industry, who are searching for high throughput methods of producing products. In this presentation various chemical reactions of pharmaceutical interest will be used to illustrate the advantages that micro reactors offer for the rapid optimisation of reactions, in which the product is typically produced in higher yield and purity. It will be illustrated that compounds may be prepared and purified within an integrated system, using electrophoretic separation. The use of solid supported reagents adds even greater diversity to the range of reactions that may be achieved within such systems. It will be demonstrated that the dimensions of reactors may be increased in size while maintaining the classic advantages associated with miniaturisation.

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Journal: TechConnect Briefs
Volume: 1, Technical Proceedings of the 2005 NSTI Nanotechnology Conference and Trade Show, Volume 1
Published: May 8, 2005
Pages: 660 - 663
Industry sectors: Medical & Biotech | Sensors, MEMS, Electronics
Topic: Micro & Bio Fluidics, Lab-on-Chip
ISBN: 0-9767985-0-6