title: Harnessing Thin-Film Continuous-Flow Assembly Lines.
abstract: Inspired by nature's ability to construct complex molecules through sequential synthetic transformations, an assembly line synthesis of α-aminophosphonates has been developed. In this approach, simple starting materials are continuously fed through a thin-film reactor where the intermediates accrue molecular complexity as they progress through the flow system. Flow chemistry allows rapid multistep transformations to occur via reaction compartmentalization, an approach not amenable to using conventional flasks. Thin film processing can also access facile in situ solvent exchange to drive reaction efficiency, and through this method, α-aminophosphonate synthesis requires only 443 s residence time to produce 3.22 g h(-1) . Assembly-line synthesis allows unprecedented reaction flexibility and processing efficiency.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Chemistry, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, California, 92697-2025, USA.|School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Flinders University, Bedford Park, Adelaide, 5001, South Australia.
authors.forename: Joshua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Britton
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Flinders University, Bedford Park, Adelaide, 5001, South Australia.
authors.forename: Jared W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Castle
authors.affiliation: Departments of Chemistry, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, California, 92697-2025, USA. gweiss@uci.edu.
authors.forename: Gregory A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Weiss
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Flinders University, Bedford Park, Adelaide, 5001, South Australia. Colin.raston@flinders.edu.au.
authors.forename: Colin L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Raston
keywords: continuous-flow chemistry; multistep transformations; reaction telescoping; thin films; α-aminophosphonates