Applications of microwave-assisted organic synthesis on the multigram scale

This review presents a summary of reactions performed using microwave irradiation on a multigram scale. Results are described in the context of existing equipment, and equipment currently in development, for the processing of multigram to kilogram quantities of materials including single- and multimode microwave reactors and batch, batch-flow and continuous-flow systems. Although limited in number, reports found in the literature to date suggest that with appropriate controls, reproducible scale-up of microwave reactions is feasible and requires minimal re-optimization of laboratory-scale reaction conditions. This feature, along with the dramatic reductions in reaction time generally observed for microwave reactions suggests that application of this technology in process research could be beneficial.