All about chemical custom synthesis

What is chemical synthesis?

Chemical synthesis[1] stands for the structurally planned manufacturing of a new chemical compound[2] by means of making or breaking of chemical bonds[3] of starting materials.

In other words:

Chemical synthesis is the artificial process of making new compounds from other, already available compounds.[4]

There are further sub-categories such as:

Organic chemical synthesis (transformation of compounds that mainly contain the atoms carbon and hydrogen, often complemented by oxygen, nitrogen and / or – more rarely by sulphur, phosphorous, halogens – resulting in organic compounds[5]) – e.g. pharmaceutical compounds, dyes, monomers for later polymer production, preserving agents, aromatic compounds
Inorganic chemical synthesis (transformation of compounds that do not belong to organic compounds – resulting in inorganic compounds[6]) – e.g. inorganic salts, materials for the construction industry, fertilizer[7]
Polymer chemical synthesis (production of large molecules of high molecular mass made of structurally identical smaller sub-units, the monomers – resulting in polymers[8]) – e.g. plastics[9], lubricants[10]
Industrial chemical synthesis (performed by companies, mainly on larger scales, aiming at compounds of significant market value) – e.g. dyes[11], adhesives[12], soaps[13], washing agents
Chemical synthesis for research and development (transformations resulting in first samples of entirely new compounds or in the development of new synthetic routes, mainly on small scale with the intention to generate new know-how and intellectual property[14]) – e.g. research compounds, reference compounds, chiral[15] compounds

The main features of a chemical synthesis are:

Use of structurally clearly defined starting materials – or mixtures of such
They are planned and performed by human beings
Enforcement of (mainly harsh) physical conditions such as heating, stirring, pressure, grinding, ultrasound, light, electric current etc.
Breaking of chemical bonds
Forming of new chemical bonds
Electron transfer[16] between atoms of the compounds involved
A comparatively simple reactor set-up with defined conditions (size, temperature, pressure, convection, defined and small number of compounds / ingredients…)
Yield of new chemical compounds – or compound mixtures - that have not been present in the starting materials

Chemical syntheses can be performed for r&d reasons or as to manufacture chemical goods for specific markets.

The manufacturers of chemical compounds for specific markets by chemical syntheses form the so called chemical industry[17]. It comprises thousands of small and midsized companies as well as some dominating global players[18].

In short: Chemical synthesis refers to the targeted, planned and controlled conversion of starting compounds into product compounds of different molecular structures by breaking and forming of chemical bonds.

Author:

Dr. Oliver Seidelmann[1] is a synthetic chemist by profession with more than 25 years experiences in the chemical industry.
He obtained his PhD at the University of Leipzig on a research topic in organometallic chemistry. After a postdoc stay at the Cape Town University in South Africa, where he worked on special noble metal catalysts, he co-founded the chemical start-up company ChiroBlock in 1999.
Since then, he has gained extensive experiences as a manager in the contract synthesis business for various target markets such as pharma, cosmetics, food, new materials, electronics, crop protection and diagnostics.
He is the author of many scientific papers, patents and some more business oriented publications such as a survey on chemical start-ups in Germany.[2]

[1] www.linkedin.com/in/oliver-seidelmann-chiroblock--converting-ideas-into-molecules

[2] Seidelmann, Oliver. "Wie gründe ich ein Unternehmen?." Chemie in unserer Zeit 47.5 (2013).

Sources:

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_synthesis

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_compound

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_bond

[4] Corey, Elias James. The logic of chemical synthesis. Рипол Классик, 1991.

[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_compound

[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inorganic_compound

[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fertilizer

[8] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymer

[9] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic