Deciding whether to go with the flow: Evaluating the merits of flow reactors for synthesis

The fine chemicals and pharmaceutical industries are transforming how their products are manufactured, where economically favorable, from traditional batchwise processes to continuous flow. This evolution is impacting synthetic chemistry on all scalesa - from the laboratory to full production. This Review discusses the relative merits of batch and micro flow reactors for performing synthetic chemistry in the laboratory. Flow or batch? The fine chemicals and pharmaceutical industries are transforming how their products are manufactured, where economically favorable, from traditional batchwise processes to continuous flow. This evolution is impacting synthetic chemistry on all scalesa - from the laboratory to full production. This Review discusses the relative merits of batch and microflow reactors for performing synthetic chemistry in the laboratory.