Mechanoenzymatic resolution of racemic chiral amines, a green technique for the synthesis of pharmaceutical building blocks

Very recently, several successful biocatalytic processes using mechanical activation to carry out enantioselective reactions have been reported. The present work describes the use of Candida antarctica Lipase B (CALB) in the kinetic resolution of racemic chiral amines by means of High-Speed Ball Milling (HSBM), minimizing the use of solvent and reducing reaction times. This approach provides an efficient and easily scalable strategy that was used for the green synthesis of enantiopure Rasagitine, as an illustrative example. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.