Microdroplet chemistry enables catalyst-free skeletal editing

Water microdroplets are the latest addition to the skeletal editing toolbox. Powered by nothing more than a fine spray of water, researchers in India achieved a complex ring rearrangement with important implications for drug design and synthesis – the conversion of aniline to pyridine. The reagent-free process provides crucial insight into the fundamental mechanism of microdroplets’ unique reactivity and potentially opens the door to the green synthesis of other valuable heterocycles in future.