Advancing Sustainable Isotope Labelling: New Developments in Deuteration and Tritiation Chemistry

The growing demand for deuterated and tritiated compounds has driven the need for more sustainable isotope-labelling strategies. Consistent with the principles of the Stockholm Declaration and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, greener approaches to deuteration and tritiation seek to improve resource efficiency, reduce waste, and minimize the environmental impact of isotope chemistry. This seminar will highlight recent advances in sustainable isotope labelling, with particular emphasis on continuous-flow processing, biocatalysis, and transition-metal-free methodologies.

Examples include the use of immobilized iridium(I) catalysts for H/D exchange in batch and continuous-flow systems, and the continuous biocatalytic synthesis of monodeuterated tyramine using tyrosine decarboxylases in D2O. Additionally, the development of bench-stable BF2-boracycles has enabled catalyst-free selective deuteration and tritiation of a range of arenes, as well as iterative strategies for the preparation of multiply labelled heterocycles. Finally, transition-metal-free ortho-deuteration of electron-deficient N-heteroarenes using LiTMP and D2O provides efficient access to highly deuterated, drug-relevant intermediates.

Collectively, these studies demonstrate complementary routes to more efficient and sustainable isotope-labelling technologies.