The term late-stage functionalization (LSF) is recent but is now frequently used in the field of organic methodology development to describe transformations on complex molecules. Such reactions include catalytic and non-catalytic reactions, C–H functionalizations, and functional-group manipulations with one or several desired products. However, explicit guidance to classify whether a reaction is a LSF or not, and why or why not, is not available. Herein, we advance a definition for LSF and highlight the requirements, features, and challenges of LSF reactions accompanied by representative examples. We aspire that our analysis will be helpful as a guiding principle in the field.

术语后期功能化（LSF）是最近出现的，但现在在有机方法开发领域中经常用于描述复杂分子上的转化。此类反应包括催化和非催化反应，CH官能化以及使用一种或几种所需产物进行的官能团操作。但是，没有明确的指导来分类反应是否为LSF，以及为什么或为什么不是。在本文中，我们提出了LSF的定义，并突出了LSF反应的要求，特征和挑战，并附有代表性的例子。我们希望我们的分析将有助于该领域的指导原则。