Route selection
Compare alternatives across chemistry, supply, safety, waste and delivery constraints.
Research area 02
Route design and process chemistry
From a plausible transformation to a safe, selective and transferable synthetic route.
Finding a reaction is only the beginning. The group evaluates chemistry as a connected route, considering starting materials, step count, selectivity, kinetics, hazards, work-up, impurity control, sustainability and translation to useful scale.
Scientific questions
Questions that shape the work
- 01
Which retrosynthetic route offers the best balance of feasibility, safety, cost and material efficiency?
- 02
What reaction variables determine selectivity, robustness and impurity formation?
- 03
Can operations be telescoped or redesigned to remove isolations and reduce waste?
- 04
How should a process be translated from discovery conditions into a practical operating window?
Established expertise
Demonstrated capabilities
These themes reflect the group’s established scientific record. Availability for a new project depends on scope, collaborators, funding and the practical requirements of the work.
Retrosynthetic route analysisRoute comparison and selectionKinetic and parameter profilingSolvent, reagent and catalyst assessmentImpurity understanding and controlTelescoping and sequence integrationProcess safety and hazard reductionBatch-to-flow translationGreen and efficiency metricsScale-up and technology transfer
Approach
How the problem is addressed
Chemistry, evidence and technology are considered together, with methods selected for scientific value rather than novelty alone.
Process understanding
Map critical variables, failure modes and robust operating windows.
Translation
Connect laboratory performance with equipment, work-up and scale requirements.
Representative applications
Where this expertise can contribute
- Route rescue and redesign
- Process intensification
- Safer hazardous transformations
- Fine-chemical and pharmaceutical development
Future research direction
Developing the next programme
The next programme will explore integrated route evaluation in which retrosynthetic options, experimental evidence, process metrics and scale constraints are considered together rather than as separate late-stage activities.
View the future programmeCollaboration opportunity
Discuss a substantive project
Suitable collaborations include difficult route selection, inefficient legacy synthesis, impurity or robustness problems, hazardous operations and early assessment of batch-to-flow feasibility.
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