Membrane Bioreactors for Pharmaceutical Applications: Optically Pure Enantiomers Production

Title:Membrane Bioreactors for Pharmaceutical Applications: Optically Pure Enantiomers Production

Volume: 23 Issue: 2

Author(s): Emma Piacentini, Rosalinda Mazzei and Lidietta Giorno

Affiliation:

Keywords: Membrane bioreactor, optically pure enantiomer, chiral drugs, enantioselectivity, enzyme, kinetic resolution, mass transport in membranes, two-separate phase membrane contactor.

Abstract: In biological systems, recognition at molecular level is governed by chiral interactions. Therefore, optical isomers have very different effect in natural systems. For example, one can have beneficial effect while the other can be very harmful. For these reasons, chiral drugs nowadays are mainly admitted in the optically pure form. Given these requirements, it is clear why demand for chiral drugs has grown dramatically and the singleenantiomer drug segment has become an important part of the overall pharmaceutical market. As a consequence, the development of new chiral separation techniques is a very hot topic in both academic research and industrial innovation. Membrane bioreactors have proven their feasibility in the production of optically pure enantiomers by combining enantiospecific biochemical reactions with mass transport through membranes.

Cite this article as:

Piacentini Emma, Mazzei Rosalinda and Giorno Lidietta, Membrane Bioreactors for Pharmaceutical Applications: Optically Pure Enantiomers Production, Current Pharmaceutical Design 2017; 23 (2) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1381612823666161123143512