Continuous Flow Synthesis of Propofol.

Herein, we report a continuous flow process for the synthesis of 2,6-diisopropylphenol-also known as Propofol-a short-acting intravenous anesthesia, widely used in intensive care medicine to provide sedation and hypnosis. The synthesis is based on a two-step procedure: a double Friedel-Crafts alkylation followed by a decarboxylation step, both under continuous flow.