When stable atropisomers are encountered by drug discovery teams, they can have important implications due to potential differences in their biological activity, pharmacokinetics, and toxicity. Knowledge of an atropisomer's activation parameters for interconversion is required to facilitate informed decisions on how to proceed. Herein, we communicate the development of a new method for the rapid measurement of atropisomer racemization kinetics utilizing segmented flow technology. This method leverages the speed, accuracy, low sample requirement, safety, and semiautomated nature of flow instrumentation to facilitate the acquisition of kinetics data required for experimentally probing atropisomer activation parameters. Measured kinetics data obtained for the atropo isomerization of AMPA antagonist CP-465021 using segmented flow and traditional thermal methods were compared to validate the method. KEYWORDS: Atropisomer, Reaction kinetics, Segmented flow chemistry T he incidence of axial chirality known as atropisomerism 1 in chemical research is steadily increasing due to the advent of new chemical methodologies, which have made sterically encumbered bonds more facile to form. 2 Their existence in a drug discovery setting can have important implications due to possible differences in their biological activity, pharmacokinetics, and toxicity. 3 Knowledge of atropisomer activation parameters facilitates informed decisions about appropriate handling, storage, and reaction conditions. These data can also influence preclinical development strategy. 4 Herein, we report the rapid measurement of atropisomer racemization kinetics utilizing segmented flow technology. This method leverages the speed, accuracy, low sample requirement, safety, and semiautomated nature of flow instrumentation 5 to facilitate convenient acquisition of the kinetics data required for experimentally probing activation parameters.We demonstrate the utility of this method by employing it to generate kinetics data for CP-465021 (Figure 1), a potent and selective noncompetitive α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptor antagonist whose synthesis and resolution are reported elsewhere. 6−9 This molecule has an axial element of chirality due to hindered rotation of the N-aryl bond. Previously, serial measurements of the chiral stability of this molecule were conducted in a thermally controlled oil bath in 3-methylbutan-1-ol at 120°C. These experiments suggest that interconversion of CP-465021 occurs via a planar, nonionic transition state with a rate constant k rac = 1.07 × 10 −2 min −1 . 10 Segmented flow technology 11 is uniquely suited for measuring thermal interconversion kinetics and has several advantages over traditional methods. First, the reaction temperature can be maintained safely above the boiling point of solvent due to the instrument's ability to contain pressure, thus accelerating reaction times and data acquisition. Second, the thermal mass of the system is much greater than the reaction fluid permitti...