Divergent synthesis

Divergent synthesis is a strategy that converts a common starting material or intermediate into multiple structurally distinct compounds through different reaction pathways.

Chemical reaction: A process that transforms chemical substances into products by rearranging atoms and bonds. Each branch begins when the shared precursor undergoes a distinct chemical transformation.
Diversity-oriented synthesis: A synthetic approach designed to generate collections of structurally diverse small molecules. Divergent branching is one way to expand molecular diversity from shared starting materials.
Linear synthesis: A synthetic route in which reactions proceed through a single sequence toward one principal product. Linear synthesis follows one main path, unlike branching from a shared precursor.
Ugi reaction: A multicomponent reaction that combines an amine, a carbonyl compound, a carboxylic acid, and an isocyanide. Its products can serve as common intermediates for distinct post-condensation transformations.
Synthetic efficiency: The effectiveness of a chemical route in converting starting materials into a desired product with limited resources and steps. Reusing a shared intermediate can reduce duplicated preparation across a related product series.
Chemoselectivity: The preference of a reaction for one functional group over other reactive groups in a molecule. Controlling which functional group reacts can direct a common intermediate down different branches.
Medicinal chemistry: The discipline concerned with designing, synthesizing, and studying compounds for therapeutic use. Medicinal chemists use branching routes to compare related structures during optimization.
Convergent synthesis: A strategy that prepares separate molecular fragments and joins them late in a synthesis. Convergent routes combine branches to build one target; divergent routes split one precursor into products.
Buchwald–Hartwig amination: A palladium-catalyzed reaction that forms carbon–nitrogen bonds between aryl halides and nitrogen nucleophiles. Changing coupling partners at a shared aryl intermediate yields different substituted products.
Molecular diversity: The range of distinct molecular structures within a set of compounds. Branching creates structural variety while retaining a common portion of molecular architecture.

Linked from 1 page