J. Am. Chem. Soc. doi:10.1021/ja105834t (2010)

Attaching fluorine to small organic molecules can improve their pharmacological properties. But the process often relies on palladium catalysts and harsh reaction conditions.

Tobias Ritter and his colleagues at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, have developed an alternative approach based on a silver catalyst. Using the relatively inexpensive silver oxide, they successfully fluorinated several small molecules, including a cholesterol drug, attaining high yields under milder reaction conditions.

Although the new method requires an additional synthetic step, it should be suitable for late-stage fluorination of complex small molecules such as pharmaceuticals, the authors say.