Issue 2, 2021

Combining radial and continuous flow synthesis to optimize and scale-up the production of medicines

Abstract

Current drug production in batch cannot adapt rapidly to market demands, evidenced by recent shortages in many markets globally of essential medicines. Flow chemistry is a valuable tool for on-demand production of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). Here, we reveal a new concept to develop and produce APIs, where an automated synthesizer that works with discrete volumes of solutions is employed at the discovery stage to identify the optimal synthetic route and conditions before a commercially available continuous flow system is used for scale-up. This concept is illustrated by the synthesis of nifedipine and paracetamol, in short supply in Germany during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the local anesthetic lidocaine.

Graphical abstract: Combining radial and continuous flow synthesis to optimize and scale-up the production of medicines

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
25 nov 2020
Accepted
05 jan 2021
First published
05 jan 2021
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

React. Chem. Eng., 2021,6, 220-224

Combining radial and continuous flow synthesis to optimize and scale-up the production of medicines

M. Guidi, S. Moon, L. Anghileri, D. Cambié, P. H. Seeberger and K. Gilmore, React. Chem. Eng., 2021, 6, 220 DOI: 10.1039/D0RE00445F

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements