Continuous Flow Chemistry - METTLER TOLEDO

Reduce Cycle Time, Increase Quality and Yield With Flow Chemistry

Used in the chemical and petrochemical markets for decades, continuous flow chemistry production methodology has recently been gaining interest in pharmaceutical R&D. The desire to develop new and improved chemical processes that optimize the use of resources has facilitated a large amount of work in the development of continuous flow reactor technologies. The use of modern continuous flow reactor technologies can deliver a number of distinct advantages over a more traditional batch process. They allow for rapid analysis, optimization and scale-up of a chemical reaction. This ultimately leads to reduced cycle time, increased quality and increased yield.

The ThaleNano H-Cube® is an example of a bench top hydrogenation system based upon continuous flow reactor technology. It can be used to perform continuous hydrogenation reactions up to 500g in scale, delivering product of superior quality and yield when compared with more traditional methods. It is also safer to use as it requires no external hydrogen source.

FlowIR™ is a dedicated Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) instrument for real-time monitoring of continuous flow chemistry. Though they bring inherent advantages, the optimization of a chemical reaction using a flow reactor is not always simple. It requires a process of trial and error as conditions and flow rates are altered until a steady state is found, producing the desired product at the desired yield. Hence a fast and effective method to measure the consumption of reactants and the formation of products and byproducts is required.

A collaboration between Professor Steven Ley at the University of Cambridge, UK and METTLER TOLEDO has resulted in the development of a reliable solution to quickly and accurately optimize a flow reaction system. This method, consisting of a DS Micro Flow Cell coupled to a ReactIR™ instrument, makes the real time optimization of a flow reactor a reality. Typical control parameters like the flow rate of reactants, or the temperature of the reaction cell can be changed, and the impact of those adjustments is immediately seen as the ReactIR™ system measures the output of the reactor. The formation of products, byproducts and reactive intermediates can all be followed, and this information used to make ‘on the fly’ adjustments which lead to optimized operating conditions of the whole system.

Flow Chemistry Technology