IIT Delhi team develops catalytic technology for synthesis of chiral molecules

NEW DELHI: Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi have developed a catalytic technology for the sustainable and economical synthesis of chiral molecules which are essential building blocks to produce pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and biologically active compounds.

According to the research team, India is heavily dependent on importing (above 85 per cent) Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), and a significant proportion of those APIs are chiral molecules.

An IIT Delhi research group led by Prof. Kuntal Manna from the Department of Chemistry and his PhD students --Neha Antil and Rajashree Newar-- has developed a catalytic technology for the sustainable and economical synthesis of chiral molecules. The Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), a statutory body of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, has funded this research work.

"The developed catalytic technology may play a crucial role in decreasing the country's dependence on the import of the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients, which also means lowering of the input cost for the industry that would encourage it to pass on the benefit to the society," said Kuntal Manna, Professor at IIT Delhi's Chemistry department.

He said the existing methodologies "are costly and not eco-friendly". "To tackle this problem, the research team developed a Metal-Organic Framework-based catalytic technology using inexpensive natural feedstocks and abundant metals for the sustainable and economical synthesis of enantiomerically pure chiral molecules," Manna said.

(With inputs from PTI)

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