Submillisecond organic synthesis: Outpacing Fries rearrangement through microfluidic rapid mixing

In chemical synthesis, rapid intramolecular rearrangements often foil attempts at site-selective bimolecular functionalization. We developed a microfluidic technique that outpaces the very rapid anionic Fries rearrangement to chemoselectively functionalize iodophenyl carbamates at the ortho position. Central to the technique is a chip microreactor of our design, which can deliver a reaction time in the submillisecond range even at cryogenic temperatures. The microreactor was applied to the synthesis of afesal, a bioactive molecule exhibiting anthelmintic activity, to demonstrate its potential for practical synthesis and production.