Electric current speeds greener synthesis of sugar-based compounds

Researchers from Tallinn University of Technology and Italy have developed a faster, more efficient way to make sugar-based molecules using electricity, ERR reported. The reaction can be used in the synthesis of antibiotics and cancer medicines.

Sugars are components of many biologically active molecules, where they can affect solubility and how compounds bind to other molecules. Changing a molecule’s sugar component can therefore alter its properties. Producing the desired compound requires careful control of the reaction and the molecule’s structure.

The researchers focused on the Ferrier rearrangement, which changes the structure of a sugar-derived molecule and joins it to another molecular component. The resulting compounds can be used in further synthesis steps.

Traditionally, the reaction uses strong acids or hazardous oxidants to activate the starting material, creating harmful waste. The team from Tallinn University of Technology and the University of Rome Tor Vergata instead used electricity in a flow reactor, where reagents pass continuously through the reactor as the electrochemical reaction takes place.

Compared with the conventional batch method, which processes one quantity at a time in a reaction vessel, the flow approach offers greater control, can reduce energy use and can substantially speed up the process. It also avoids chemical oxidants and their associated waste. A comparison with earlier electrochemical Ferrier methods found that the new approach used less material to produce the same quantity of product.

The reaction can take less than 20 seconds. Professor Maksim Ošeka, head of the flow chemistry research group, said the work brings the method closer to industrial use. Earlier approaches had been limited by complex equipment, low productivity or hazardous reagents, he said. The team aimed to make the reaction practical with a simple and efficient solution.