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An automated, continuous flow system for the online, multivariable optimization of a chemical reaction is presented. Time and material required for an optimization trial are minimized by performing reactions in an integrated silicon microreactor and incorporating an HPLC for inline monitoring of the reaction performance. We use the system to optimize two different reactions to describe the potential impact of this system for reaction development. First, we demonstrate the broad operation capabilities by incorporating several feedback algorithms to optimize a weighted objective function involving the yield and the throughput of a Knoevenagel condensation reaction. After illustrating how system operations can be adapted for individual reactions, we perform a multiparameter optimization to maximize the yield of benzaldehyde in the oxidation pathway of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde to benzoic acid. A significant feature of the automated system is the ability to perform “black-box” optimization where no a priori information of the reaction parameters is required.
McMullen et al. (Thu,) studied this question.