Reaction screening in continuous flow reactors

Continuous flow systems have emerged as powerful tools for synthetic community which can enable highly automated synthesis. They hold many advantages in comparison to conventional batch methods, and have been favorably applied in reaction screening and optimization. Continuous flow reactors have shown remarkable efficiency during screening of reaction parameters such as temperature, pressure, residence time, catalysts, solvents, as well as substrates. This review describes selected recent examples on utilizing continuous flow systems in the screening of continuous and discrete variables for the synthesis of small organic molecules. Benefits and limitations will be briefly covered. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.