Zymes’ Ubisol-Aqua™ : Contributing to Environmentally Responsible “Green Chemistry”
Wednesday, April 9th, 2008Zymes’ Ubisol-Aqua™ technology enables key chemical reactions to take place under “green” conditions – safely, in water, at room temperature, without reliance on organic solvents.
Hasbrouck Heights, N.J. – April 9, 2008 – Zymes LLC announced that PTS, the lead compound of their Ubisol-Aqua™ solubilization technology, allows reactions to be performed in water at room temperature with yields and selectivity comparable to, or better than, those previously obtained in organic solvents. These new environmentally responsible chemical processes utilizing Zymes’ patented Ubisol-Aqua™ technology were published online in the American Chemical Society journal Organic Letters on March 12, 2008. Dr. Bruce Lipshutz, Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of California Santa Barbara, demonstrated that the use of Zymes’ PTS can be applied to three diverse types of widely used chemical reactions (Suzuki–Miyaura biaryl couplings, Heck reactions, and intermolecular olefin cross-metathesis) that now proceed with water-insoluble materials, with water as the only solvent.
Industrial reactions are usually run in organic solvents at elevated temperatures. Commonly used organic solvents such as toluene, methylene chloride (DCM), dimethylformamide (DMF) and tetrahydrofuran (THF) can be toxic, flammable and expensive. During the reaction phase of a chemical manufacturing process, approximately 10 kilograms of organic solvents are required for every kilogram of product formed. Thus, in a single process scaled to 25 metric tons, the use of Zymes’ PTS could potentially replace 250 metric tons of organic solvents with pure water. Every year more than 3.2 billion kilograms of organic solvents are used in chemical manufacturing. The use of Zymes’ PTS, at a mere 1% penetration in the reaction phase of the chemical manufacturing process, could result in a reduction of more than 16 million kilograms of organic solvents.
Prof. Lipshutz stated “The significance of the PTS technology to green chemistry is that it not only opens doors to new reactions in water, but it decreases reliance on solvents, many of which are derived from the world’s oil supply. These processes also have the potential to reduce energy consumption and decrease solvent waste. To further enable such fundamental processes as Nobel Prize winning metathesis chemistry with “green” virtues is very gratifying.”
The US Environmental Protection Agency describes green chemistry as involving environmentally friendly chemicals and processes that result in: reduced waste; decreased costly clean-up treatments; safer processes based on water as solvent; and reduced demands on energy and resources. It is a preventive philosophy looking to put a stop to pollution at its source by encouraging the design of products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use and/or generation of environmentally hazardous compounds, including organic solvents. Zymes PTS provides a means to reduce this waste and decrease cost by facilitating the reactions in water at room temperature.
Research quantities will be available through Zymes’ exclusive distributor, Sigma-Aldrich (NASDAQ: SIAL), in May 2008 under catalog number 698717. Larger quantities are available under license by Zymes LLC.
“We are pleased to offer PTS pre-dissolved in water to the scientific community,” commented Dr. Steve Branca, Vice President of Business Development for Sigma-Aldrich. “We see PTS as an enabling technology that provides a multitude of options for effecting both chemical and biochemical processes with lipophilic compounds in water without recourse to co-solvents or heating.”
About Sigma-Aldrich: Sigma-Aldrich is a leading Life Science and High Technology company. Its biochemical and organic chemical products and kits are used in scientific and genomic research, biotechnology, pharmaceutical development, the diagnosis of disease and as key components in pharmaceutical and other high technology manufacturing. The Company has customers in life science companies, university and government institutions, hospitals, and in industry. Over one million scientists and technologists use its products. Sigma-Aldrich operates in 36 countries and has 7,900 employees providing excellent service worldwide. Sigma-Aldrich is committed to Accelerating Customer Success through Leadership in Life Science, High Technology and Service. For more information about Sigma-Aldrich, please visit its award-winning website at http://www.sigma-aldrich.com.
About Zymes: Zymes LLC is a bioscience company based in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ that provides innovative solutions to its partners and consumers through proprietary science and technology, enabling new products to enhance the well-being of people and the environment. For more information visit its award-winning website at http://www.zymes.com or email info@zymesllc.com.
