Chirality in Industry II: Developments in the Commercial Manufacture and Applications of Optically Active Compounds

This second volume of Chirality in Industry contains new case histories from a wide range of contributors from industry or with strong industrial connections. While it is intended that the new volume will stand on its own, Volumes I and II taken together present an up-to-date and comprehensive picture of the technologies required to produce optically active compounds on a multi-kilogramme to high tonnage scale as well as illustrating the breadth of application of these technologies; the pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, electronics, food, flavour and fragrance industries are all represented. Chirality in Industry II\* All new case histories\* Unique industrial perspective on chiral technology\* Emphasis on scale-up and process development\* Comparison of biocatalysis, asymmetric synthesis and classical resolution approachesThe chiral infrastructure is now largely in place and there is no reason why large-scale production should not be possible for even moderately priced single enantiomer products. The successful industrial application of chiral chemistry depends on the integration of a range of supporting technologies and there are many examples in this volume of how widely the industrial practitioner must cast the net to achieve practical production methods. As with Volume I, this new volume is of particular interest to those professionally involved in the scale-up processes for single enantiomers. However, students and researchers involved in a more academic pursuit of optical activity will also benefit from some of the facets of large-scale thinking. An economic solution is still most likely to be a simple, elegant solution. In surveying developments since Volume I was published in 1992, it is clear that the needs of the pharmaceutical industry continue to be a major driving force for development of new and cost-effective methods for manufacturing optically active materials and, inevitably, much of the content of this volume is pharmaceutically oriented. The manufacture and commercialization of optically-active products and intermediates is a rapidly evolving field. There have been significant new developments since the first volume of Chirality in Industry was published.