Microwave Assisted Organic Synthesis of Heterocycles in Aqueous Media: Recent Advances in Medicinal Chemistry

Green chemistry is a discipline of great interest in medicinal chemistry. It involves all fields of chemistry and it is based on the principle to conduct chemical reactions protecting the environment at the same time, through the use of chemical procedures able to avoid pollution. In this context, water as solvent is a good choice because it is abundant, nontoxic, non-caustic, and non-combustible. Even if microwave assisted organic reactions in conventional solvents have quickly progressed, in the recent years medicinal chemists have focused their attention to processes deemed not dangerous for the environment, using nanotechnology and greener solvents as water.