Catalytic hydrogenation is an efficient and green chemical reduction in that the reducing agent, H2, is cheap and readily available and there are no byproducts.  Continuous hydrogenation in a trickle bed system offers the further advantages of lower pressurized volumes and short exposure to high pressures and high local catalyst loadings.  This can increase reactivity, diastereoselectivity, and/or chemoselectivity in the reduction of a variety of functional groups.  Complete hydrogenation of the substrate before dissociation from the catalyst surface promotes the cis-reduction of pyridines and the clean reduction of nitroaromatics.  This is demonstrated by the synthesis of the chiral headpiece for tofacitinib and an aniline intermediate for bosutinib.  Additional cases will be described for a variety of substrates which stall under batch hydrogenation conditions but reduce quickly and completely under flow conditions.

Process chemistry applications of trickle bed flow hydrogenation technology in a pharmaceutical environment

246th National Meeting (2013)

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