Ritter reactions in continuous flow catalysed by a solid-supported sulfonic acid catalyst
Amides are among the most important functional groups in all of chemistry (Fig. 1A). As well as occupying a central role in chemical biology within the structure of polypeptides, they are also present in many pharmaceutical compounds, with 16 of the 29 new small molecule drugs reported in 2021 containing at least one amide bond.1 Amidations represent 25% of all reactions used in medicinal chemistry.2
However, many established methods for amide bond formation (e.g. peptide couplings) require hazardous reagents or harsh conditions, alongside the generation of large quantities of chemical waste since they generally require stoichiometric activation of the acid.3 Consequently, sustainable and scalable amide syntheses have been a long-standing research goal.
