Chemical reaction creates cost-effective compounds
24 Jul 2013
Experts at the University of Texas at Austin (UTA) believe they have discovered an organic reaction set to reduce chemical costs.
The reaction creates phenolic compounds from aromatic hydrocarbons; useful for generating agricultural chemicals and pharmaceutical drugs.
Phenolic compounds are required as disinfectants, fungicides and in drugs - as a means of treating conditions such a Parkinson’s disease.
“There are no special conditions. You just combine the reagents, mix them and go”
UTA assistant professor Dionicio Siegel
The process of creating such compounds involves replacing a hydrogen molecule on an aromatic hydrocarbon with an oxygen molecule.
Though the technique seems quite simple, Dionicio Siegel, assistant professor at UTA, believes: “This is a chemical transformation that is underdeveloped and at the same time pivotal in the production of many chemicals important to life as we know it.”
Phthaloyl peroxide, the substance used during the research, has the ability to react without the need of acids or catalysts and it can add oxygen to a wide variety of starting materials.
On discussing any difficulties faced when using the novel compound, Siegel stated: “There are no special conditions. You just combine the reagents, mix them and go. It’s very simple and straight forward.”
Described in the journal Nature, the discovery has the potential for application within other areas; particularly in creating metabolites to drugs.
The interest lies in accounting for the possible by-products the newly developed drugs could leave behind and also how these by-products react.
Siegel suggested that: “Just as it’s important that the drug doesn’t have deleterious side effects, it’s equally important that the metabolite doesn’t have an effect.”
Moreover, the UTA team are applying their research in an effort to develop reactive agents that could expand the scope of chemicals that can be transformed.
