Verdimine rolls out aqueous green synthesis

Verdimine, a US-based specialist in green chemistry, has revealed that it has developed an aqueous-based manufacturing process for the synthesis of imines, aryl aldimines, oximes and related compounds using a renewable and biodegradable solvent that the FDA has approved for use as a food additive. Synthetics USA, a US-based fine chemical marketing firm, will be its business development representative in the North American marketplace.

The company has to date produced over 400 imines at lab scale using its technology and claims to have proven the cost-advantage of using this for the production of an imine intermediate currently used in the manufacture of a commercial API. The scope of the process is now being expanded to include related derivatives, such as azines, semicarbazones, pyrazoles, pyrazolones, quinoxaline and quinoxalin-2(1H)-ones.

The patented process, Verdimine said, allows for synthesis under ambient conditions rather than the elevated 79-110°C usually seen with conventional solvents. It can be tuned with water as a co-solvent to optimise polarity and induce the rapid formation of product within seconds to minutes. The imines crystallise directly out of solution in high purity and yield, often reducing the need for additional recrystallisation steps.