Multicomponent reactions: advanced tools for sustainable organic synthesis

Sustainable or green chemistry has established firm ground providing essential design criteria for the development of efficient chemical syntheses of complex, high added value molecules. On the other hand, multicomponent reactions have only recently been recognized as major expansion of the synthetic chemist's toolbox. There is still little awareness, however, of the practical value of these type of reactions for meeting many of the criteria set by the green chemistry philosophy to guide organic chemists and process chemists in the design, synthesis and further development of truly sustainable manufacturing processes of medicines, food additives, catalysts or advanced materials. In this perspective we highlight the utility of multicomponent reactions as methods for green synthesis.