Bartholomäus Pieber

Microwave Effects in Organic Synthesis: Myth or Reality?

on the use ofmicrowaveirradiationto“accelerate”organicchemicaltrans-formations, there has been considerable speculation anddiscussion of this effect. Much of the debate has centeredaround the question whether the observed effects can in allinstances be rationalized by purely thermal/kinetic phenom-ena (thermal microwave effects) arising from the rapidheating and high bulk reaction temperatures attained withmicrowave dielectric heating, or whether some effects areconnected to so-called specific or nonthermal microwaveeffects.

Regulation of Gene Expression through a Transcriptional Repressor that Senses Acyl-Chain Length in Membrane Phospholipids

Summary Membrane phospholipids typically contain fatty acids (FAs) of 16 and 18 carbon atoms. This particular chain length is evolutionarily highly conserved and presumably provides maximum stability and dynamic properties to biological membranes in response to nutritional or environmental cues. Here, we show that the relative proportion of C16 versus C18 FAs is regulated by the activity of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (Acc1), the first and rate-limiting enzyme of FA de novo synthesis. Acc1 activity is attenuated by AMPK/Snf1-dependent phosphorylation, which is required to maintain an appropriate acyl-chain length distribution. Moreover, we find that the transcriptional repressor Opi1 preferentially binds to C16 over C18 phosphatidic acid (PA) species: thus, C16-chain containing PA sequesters Opi1 more effectively to the ER, enabling AMPK/Snf1 control of PA acyl-chain length to determine the degree of derepression of Opi1 target genes. These findings reveal an unexpected regulatory link between the major energy-sensing kinase, membrane lipid composition, and transcription.

Continuous flow reduction of artemisinic acid utilizing multi-injection strategies-closing the gap towards a fully continuous synthesis of antimalarial drugs.

One of the rare alternative reagents for the reduction of carbon-carbon double bonds is diimide (HN=NH), which can be generated in situ from hydrazine hydrate (N2H4⋅H2O) and O2. Although this selective method is extremely clean and powerful, it is rarely used, as the rate-determining oxidation of hydrazine in the absence of a catalyst is relatively slow using conventional batch protocols. A continuous high-temperature/high-pressure methodology dramatically enhances the initial oxidation step, at the same time allowing for a safe and scalable processing of the hazardous reaction mixture. Simple alkenes can be selectively reduced within 10-20 min at 100-120 °C and 20 bar O2 pressure. The development of a multi-injection reactor platform for the periodic addition of N2H4⋅H2O enables the reduction of less reactive olefins even at lower reaction temperatures. This concept was utilized for the highly selective reduction of artemisinic acid to dihydroartemisinic acid, the precursor molecule for the semisynthesis of the antimalarial drug artemisinin. The industrially relevant reduction was achieved by using four consecutive liquid feeds (of N2H4⋅H2O) and residence time units resulting in a highly selective reduction within approximately 40 min at 60 °C and 20 bar O2 pressure, providing dihydroartemisinic acid in ≥93% yield and ≥95% selectivity.

Aerobic Oxidations in Continuous Flow

In recent years, the high demand for sustainable processes resulted in the development of highly attractive oxidation protocols utilizing molecular oxygen or even air instead of more uneconomic and often toxic reagents. The application of these sustainable, gaseous oxidants in conventional batch reactors is often associated with severe safety risks and process challenges especially on larger scales. Continuous flow technology offers the possibility to minimize these safety hazards and concurrently allows working in high-temperature/high-pressure regimes to access highly efficient oxidation protocols. This review article critically discusses recent literature examples of flow methodologies for selective aerobic oxidations of organic compounds. Several technologies and reactor designs for biphasic gas/liquid as well as supercritical reaction media are presented in detail.

Flash carboxylation: fast lithiation–carboxylation sequence at room temperature in continuous flow

A method for the direct lithiation of terminal alkynes and heterocycles with subsequent carboxylation in a continuous flow format was developed. This method provides carboxylic acids at ambient conditions within less than five seconds with only little excess of the organometallic base and CO2.

Continuous Heterogeneous Photocatalysis in Serial Micro‐Batch Reactors

Solid reagents, leaching catalysts, and heterogeneous photocatalysts are commonly employed in batch processes but are ill-suited for continuous-flow chemistry. Heterogeneous catalysts for thermal reactions are typically used in packed-bed reactors, which cannot be penetrated by light and thus are not suitable for photocatalytic reactions involving solids. We demonstrate that serial micro-batch reactors (SMBRs) allow for the continuous utilization of solid materials together with liquids and gases in flow. This technology was utilized to develop selective and efficient fluorination reactions using a modified graphitic carbon nitride heterogeneous catalyst instead of costly homogeneous metal polypyridyl complexes. The merger of this inexpensive, recyclable catalyst and the SMBR approach enables sustainable and scalable photocatalysis.

Integrated flow processing — challenges in continuous multistep synthesis

The way organic multistep synthesis is performed is changing due to the adoption of flow chemical techniques, which has enabled the development of improved methods to make complex molecules. The modular nature of the technique provides not only access to target molecules via linear flow approaches but also for the targeting of structural cores with single systems. This perspective article summarizes the state of the art of continuous multistep synthesis and discusses the main challenges and opportunities in this area.