Article. Published in RSC Advances, 2012, 2, P. 16–58
DOI: 10.1039/c1ra00807bOrganic synthesis performed through multicomponent reactions is an attractive area of research in
organic chemistry. Multicomponent reactions involve more than two starting reagents that couple in an
exclusive ordered mode under the same reaction conditions to form a single product which contains the
essential parts of the starting materials. Multicomponent reactions are powerful tools in modern drug
discovery processes, because they are an important source of molecular diversity, allowing rapid,
automated and high throughput generation of organic compounds. This review aims to illustrate
progress in a large variety of catalyzed multicomponent reactions performed with acid, base and metal
heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysts. Within each type of multicomponent approach, relevant
products that can be obtained and their interest for industrial applications are presented.
