A solid phase method for the synthesis of a plurality of differently substituted thiophenes with a wide variety of side-chain substituents as compounds of potential therapeutic interest is disclosed. The thiophenes are prepared by acylation of a substrate-bound primary or secondary amine with cyanoacetic acid and reaction of the resulting cyanoacetamide with an isothiocyanate in the presence of a base. Alkylation with an appropriate alkyl halide, followed by Thorpe-Ziegier-cyclization yields differently substituted, support-bound 3-aminothiophenes. These may be screened on the substrate or cleaved from the substrate and then screened in solution. Alternatively, the resin-bound 3-amino thiophenes or the synthetic intermediates can be subjected to further synthetic transformations (N-acylation, reduction) on the support, which permits the preparation of further therapeutically interesting compounds. The efficient synthesis of a wide variety of thiophenes using automated synthesis technology of the present method makes these compounds attractive candidates for the generation and rapid screening of diverse thiophene-based libraries. The method disclosed here provides an easy and fast access to highly diverse heterocyclic compounds of therapeutic interest, amenable to automatization.