Fluorous technologies using fluorous phase tags combined with unique fluorous separation methods have become a powerful tool for solution-phase parallel and combinatorial syntheses. In a special issue of Chemical Reviews on Heterocycles published in May 2004, Dr. Wei Zhang, Director of Discovery Chemistry at FTI, published an article entitled “Fluorous Synthesis of Heterocyclic Systems” (2004, 104, 2531-2556).

This article includes over one hundred references summarizing the recent progress of heterocyclic synthesis using fluorous reagents, catalysts, scavengers, protecting groups, and tags. The paper also serves as a comprehensive general review of the current state of fluorous techniques in organic synthesis and separation, with discussion of fluorous-enhanced multicomponent reactions, microwave reactions, triphasic reactions, solid-phase synthesis of peptides and oligosaccharides, and mixture synthesis of natural products.