Solid-phase chemistry has revolutionized the synthesis of organic compounds, peptides, oligouncleotides, carbohydrates, drugs, and combinatorial libraries (1-5). Although many types of compounds incorporating a variety of building blocks can be created, all solid-phase syntheses share a common approach. In a typical synthesis, starting material is anchored to a polymeric support and transformed into product by the action of solution-phase reagents. The product is then liberated into solution. The reverse approach has been used to convert solution-phase reactions into products by means of support-immobilized reagents and catalysts (6). Solid-phase organic synthesis is effective because reagents can be used in excess to drive reactions and immobilized products can be purified by repeated washings (7). In addition, syntheses can be automated. By solid-phase protocols are illustrated by the example of Bruce Merrifield, who received a Nobel Prize for his seminal contribution, and further, by explosive developments in combinatorial chemistry and drug discovery (5,8-11).
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