Although new catalysts and reagents are steadily discovered in synthetic chemistry, scientists continue to search for the most appropriate substrate for their research. It might be easy to overlook organic building blocks, but access to the right substrate is every bit as important as having the tools to transform it into the desired target.

Organic building blocks are organic functionalized molecules: the basic components for organic synthesis. They are used for bottom-up modular assembly of molecular architectures, such as supra-molecular complexes, metal-organic frameworks, organic molecular constructs, and nanoparticles. Thereby, they play a fundamental role in medicinal chemistry, organic chemistry, and material chemistry.