INTENANT · Integrated synthesis and purification of single enantiomers

Several industries have an increasing interest in improving their access to pure single enantiomers of biologically active substances. The latter often form the basis for valued added products relevant for, among others, the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food industries. Up to now there exist two generally rivalling concepts for producing pure enantiomers. One approach is based on developing and applying enantioselective synthesis techniques, which often consist of a large number of reaction steps. Alternatively, simple non-selective synthesis can be applied in combination with advanced downstream separation techniques and recycling strategies. These two competing approaches have been up to now hardly combined and considered in a holistic way. It is the goal of the proposed project to combine the available chemical and physical methods to effectively and efficiently produce single enantiomers at high purity. For this a strong consortium of academic and industrial experts in various fields of synthesis and separation technologies will work together on several well selected model systems as well as industrially relevant components. Based on case studies performed, main outcome of the project will be innovative, shorter, cheaper and widely applicable pathways for the production of pure enantiomers, which will be brought into industrial practice and enhance the competitiveness of European industry.