Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs resolution

The outstanding influence of the anionic component on the activity and selectivity of enzymes was demonstrated in the Candida rugosa lipase-catalyzed kinetic resolution of ibuprofen, a nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug with sales of USD 183 million in 2006 (Scheme 5.15) [63]. 

The use of second-derivative synchronous fluorescence spectrometry was reported by Ruiz et al. [42] to develop a simple, rapid and sensitive fluorimetric method for the determination of binary mixtures of the nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs flufenamic (FFA), meclofenamic (MCFA) and mefenamic (MFA) acids in serum and in pharmaceutical formulations. The method is based on the intrinsic fluorescence of these compounds in chloroform. A differential wavelength of 105 nm was used for the resolution of FFA-MFA and MFA-MCFA mixtures, whereas the FFA-MCFA mixture was determined at a differential wavelength of 40 nm. Serum samples were treated with trichloroacetic acid to remove the proteins, and the analytes were extracted in chloroform prior to determination. Pharmaceutical preparations were analyzed without prior separation steps. 

Goto et al. (67) synthesized the sucdnimidyl ester [14] of (—)- -methoxy-a-methyl-l-naphthaleneacetic acid for the normal-phase LC resolution of chiral amines. The reagent permitted the determination of the enantiomers of an amphetamine derivative in blood plasma after administration of racemic drug to rabbits. With detection at 280 nm, the lower limit of sensitivity was 5 ng/mL for each enantiomer (67). Several chiral acids from the "profen" group of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs have been adapted as CDAs. One of these, naproxen, [15], is the S enantiomer and is commercially available as the resolved acid several of these acids have the advantage of providing fluorescent derivatives (68,69). 

Naproxen was introduced to the market by Syntex in 1976 as a nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug in an optically pure form. The original manufacturing process (Scheme 1) before product launch started from P-naphthol (1) which was brominated in methylene chloride to produce 1,6-dibromonaphthol (2). The labile bromine at the 1-position was removed with bisulfite to give 2-bromo-6-hydroxy-naphthalene that was then methylated with methyl chloride in water-isopropanol to obtain 2-bromo-6-methoxynaphthalene (3) in 85-90% yield from p-naphthol. The bromo compound was treated with magnesium followed by zinc chloride. The resultant naphthylzinc was coupled with ethyl bromopropionate to give naproxen ethyl ester that was hydrolyzed to afford the racemic acid 4. The final optically active naproxen (5) was obtained by a classic resolution process. The racemic acid 4 was treated with cinchonidine to fonn diastereomeric salts. The S -naproxen-cinchonidine salt was crystallized and then released with acid to give S -naproxen (5) in 95% of the theoretical yield (48% chemical yield) [8,9]. 

Inger Hermansson and Jorgen Hermansson, Direct resolution of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs on an al-acid glycoprotein column Poster presentation. The 13th International Symposium on... 

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