At Evotec we are committed to the development and usage of new technologies. With the objective to stay at the cutting edge of science and propose innovative solutions, several working groups have been created and are actively involved in various fields: photochemistry, electrochemistry, flow chemistry, biocatalysis... As part of this strategy, the working group “green chemistry” aims to design chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use or generation of hazardous substances. We are always looking for safer, greener and cleaner methodologies to reduce the environmental impact of our activities and adopt the green chemistry principles1. Green chemistry applies across the life cycle of a chemical product, including its design, manufacture, use, and disposal. Moreover, we are also engaged in energy saving to decrease the global carbon footprint of the company. Sustainability and green chemistry are implemented while maintaining our level of excellence in drug discovery. To reach our objectives, we have identified four areas of improvements:
This poster is focused on two areas in continuous improvement at Evotec: solvent alternatives and energy saving. Some examples of reactions carried out in renewable solvents such as MeTHF2 and DMI3 are presented. Alternatives to DCM (potential ozone depletory and suspected carcinogenic solvent) usage for work-up and purification are also shown4.
The poster was presented by Kim Spielmann at the Journées de Chimie Organique held on 2-4 November 2022 at the École Polytechnique, Palaiseau, France.
1Anastas, P. T.; Warner, J. C. Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice, Oxford University Press: New York, 1998, 30, By permission of Oxford University Press
2 a) Coby J. Clarke, Wei-Chien Tu, Oliver Levers, Andreas Bröhl, and Jason P. Hallett Chemical Reviews 2018, 118, 747 b) Pace, V., Hoyos, P., Castoldi, L., Domínguez de María, P. and Alcántara, A.R. ChemSusChem 2012, 5, 1369 c) Andrew Jordan, Callum G. J. Hall, Lee R. Thorp, and Helen F. Sneddon Chemical Reviews 2022, 122, 6749
3 a) Aricò, F.; Tundo, P. Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 2256 b) F. Aricò, A. S. Aldoshin, P. Tundo, ChemSusChem 2017, 10, 53 c) Russo F., Galiano F., Pedace F., Aricò F., and Figoli A. CS Sustainable Chem. Eng. 2020, 8, 1, 659
4 a) Peterson E.A., Dillon B., Raheem I., Richardson P., Richter D., Schmidte R. and Sneddon H.F. Green Chem., 2014,16, 4060 b) Taygerly J.P., Miller L.M., Yeec A. and Peterson E.A. Green Chem., 2012,14, 3020 c) MacMillan D.S., Murray J., Sneddon H.F., Jamiesona C. and Watson A.J.B. Green Chem., 2012,14, 3016