MechEnz: Mechano-enzymatic synthesis of N-heterocycles: a new challenge for a more sustainable manufacturing of chemicals and drugs

Mechanochemistry has emerged and has been growing as a powerful, sustainable and widely accepted alternative strategy in the synthesis of chemicals and drugs. The hallmark of mechanochemistry consists in carrying out chemical reactions simply through grinding or milling two or more reactants using balls in a jar with little or no solvent, making it a methodology fully in line with the principles of Green Chemistry.

The possibility to combine the advantages of mechanochemistry and mechanical activation together with biocatalysis has recently emerged as one of the most intriguing challenges for the scientific community. The development of mechano-enzymatic strategies represents an innovative green approach in chemical synthesis that allows to unite the advantages of mechanochemistry and biocatalysis in a unique manner and to perform chemical reactions with minimal amounts of solvents while

keeping the stereoselectivity of the enzymes. This project aims to make a further step forward in the fields of green chemistry and sustainable chemical manufacturing, through the development of new methodologies for the synthesis of N-heterocycles combining together mechanochemistry and biocatalysis into innovative mechano-enzymatic processes. A series of aromatic, aliphatic and chiral N-heterocyclic compounds of pharmaceutical and industrial interest will be synthesized employing MAO-N enzymes as whole biocatalysts through mechanochemical mixing in the presence of no or minimal amounts of organic solvents or water.

The successful development of new mechano-enzymatic synthetic strategies will provide the scientific community, both in academia and industry, with a new know-how and knowledge for the manufacturing of chemicals and drugs in an innovative, more economical, environmentally friendly and, overall, more sustainable method.