Evolution of microwave irradiation and its application in green chemistry and biosciences

Abstract

Microwave-assisted organic reactions have been applied as an effective technique in organic synthesis. Microwave irradiation often leads to shorter reaction times, increased yields, easier workup, matches with green chemistry protocols, and can enhance the region and stereo selectivity of reactions. In fact, the high usefulness of microwave-assisted synthesis encouraged us to increase the efficiency of several organic transformations and synthesis. High-speed microwave-assisted chemistry has attracted a considerable amount of attention in recent years and has been applied successfully in various fields of synthetic organic chemistry, proteins, peptides, drug discovery, and green chemistry. The various roles of microwave-assisted organic chemistry in green and sustainable chemistry are discussed, beginning with the strategies, technologies, and methods that were employed routinely at the time of the first reports of microwave applications. Microwave processing has several advantages over conventional sintering/heating, such as the reduction in cycle time, energy efficiency, eco-friendliness, and providing finer microstructures, leading to improved mechanical properties. Herein, we also describe the evolution of the microwave and some early applications of microwave assistance in the biomolecular sciences and treatment of solid malignant tumors.