GREEN AND SUSTAINABLE SYNTHESIS OF BIOACTIVE HETEROCYCLES FOR ANTIMICROBIAL APPLICATIONS: RECENT PROGRESS AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVES

Green and sustainable synthesis of bioactive heterocycles has direct relevance to the discovery and manufacture of antimicrobial agents. C–H activation, multicomponent reactions, photoredox catalysis, electrochemical synthesis, mechanochemistry, and flow processing provide complementary approaches for reducing waste and improving process efficiency. Their sustainability should be evaluated through atom economy, E-factor, PMI, solvent impact, energy demand, and life-cycle considerations. The integration of AI with green heterocycle chemistry represents a particularly promising next step. Machine learning can prioritize biologically promising structures, generative models can explore chemical space, retrosynthesis tools can assess synthetic feasibility, and active learning can minimize unnecessary experiments. However, computational predictions must be experimentally validated through reproducible synthesis and standardized antimicrobial testing. The convergence of AI, sustainable synthesis, medicinal chemistry, and microbiology therefore offers a realistic route toward antimicrobial candidates that are not only potent but also synthetically efficient, scalable, and environmentally responsible.

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