Asymmetric catalysis in Brazil: development and potential for advancement of Brazilian chemical industry

Química Nova

Andrade, Leandro Helgueira¹  Lüdtke, Diogo Seibert¹  Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brasil¹  Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brasil¹  Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, Brasil¹  Braga, Antonio Luiz¹  Schneider, Paulo Henrique¹  Paixão, Márcio Weber¹  Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brasil¹ 

关键词: asymmetric catalysis;    chiral compounds;    chiral catalyst.;   

DOI  :  10.1590/S0100-40422013001000017

学科分类：化学（综合）

来源: Sociedade Brasileira de Quimica

【 摘 要 】

The preparation of enantiomerically pure or enriched substances is of fundamental importance to pharmaceutical, food, agrochemical, and cosmetics industries and involves a growing market of hundreds of billions of dollars. However, most chemical processes used for their production are not environmentally friendly because in most cases, stoichiometric amounts of chiral inductors are used and substantial waste is produced. In this context, asymmetric catalysis has emerged as an efficient tool for the synthesis of enantiomerically enriched compounds using chiral catalysts. More specifically, considering the current scenario in the Brazilian chemical industry, especially that of pharmaceuticals, the immediate prospect for the use of synthetic routes developed in Brazil in an enantioselective fashion or even the discovery of new drugs is practically null. Currently, the industrial production of drugs in Brazil is primarily focused on the production of generic drugs and is basically supported by imports of intermediates from China and India. In order to change this panorama and move forward toward the gradual incorporation of genuinely Brazilian synthetic routes, strong incentive policies, especially those related to continuous funding, will be needed. These incentives could be a breakthrough once we establish several research groups working in the area of organic synthesis and on the development and application of chiral organocatalysts and ligands in asymmetric catalysis, thus contributing to boost the development of the Brazilian chemical industry. Considering these circumstances, Brazil can benefit from this opportunity because we have a wide biodiversity and a large pool of natural resources that can be used as starting materials for the production of new chiral catalysts and are creating competence in asymmetric catalysis and related areas. This may decisively contribute to the growth of chemistry in our country.

【 授权许可】

Unknown