Pharmaceutical industry alcohols

Two types of alcohols were investigated bio-methanol and bio-ethanol. Methanol (methyl alcohol) is used as a solvent (soluble in fats, resins and varnishes), also used in the pharmaceutical component of fuel for aircraft (the main component of fuel), explosives (e.g. C4), as fuel in internal combustion engines such as speedway motorbikes, used with caustic solutions or acids to obtain methyl esters, a basic raw material for polyoxymethylene (polyoxymethylene, polyformaldehyde). Ethanol (ethyl alcohol) is widely used in food and pharmaceutical industries (alcoholic fermentation) and cosmetics it is also used as a solvent. Alcohol may also be used to fuel diesel engines if there are good lubrication injector nozzles and the alcohol is mixed with a small (5-20%) amount of oil. 

The NF and reagent grades are employed in the pharmaceutical industry which makes use of benzyl alcohol s local anesthetic, antiseptic, and solvent properties (17—20). It also finds use in cough symps and drops ophthalmic solutions bum, dental (21), and insect repeUant solutions and ointments and dermatological aerosol sprays. It is used in nail lacquers and as a color developer in hair dyes by the cosmetics industry (22), and in acne treatment preparations (23). 

Bioprocess plants are an essential part of food, fine chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Use of microorganisms to transform biological materials for production of fermented foods, cheese and chemicals has its antiquity. Bioprocesses have been developed for an enoimous range of commercial products, as listed in Table 1.1. Most of the products originate from relatively cheap raw materials. Production of industrial alcohols and organic solvents is mostly originated from cheap feed stocks. The more expensive and special bioprocesses are in the production of antibiotics, monoclonal antibodies and vaccines. Industrial enzymes and living cells such as baker s yeast and brewer s yeast are also commercial products obtained from bioprocess plants. 

Notwithstanding the chemical differences (alcohol groups in guaran, carboxyl groups in xanthan, and partially esterified carboxyl groups in pectin) these three polysaccharides in combination with chitosan in the microspheres appear to be able to bring chitosan into solution. This is particularly interesting if one considers the solubility of these three polysaccharides in water and their important applications in the food and pharmaceutical industries. 

The removal of carbobenzyloxy (Cbz or Z) groups from amines or alcohols is of high interest in the fine chemicals, agricultural and pharmaceutical industry. Palladium on activated carbon is the catalyst of choice for these deprotection reactions. Nitrogen containing modifiers are known to influence the selectivity for certain deprotection reactions. In this paper we show the rate accelerating effect of certain N-containing modifiers on the deprotection of carbobenzyloxy protected amino acids in the presence of palladium on activated carbon catalysts. The experiments show that certain modifiers like pyridine and ethylenediamine increase the reaction rate and therefore shorten the reaction times compared to non-modified palladium catalysts. Triethylamine does not have an influence on the rate of deprotection. 

The method uses a simple electrode made of a thin film of sol-gel organosilica doped with nitroxyl radicals deposited on the surface of an indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode. Thus, whereas in water benzyl alcohol is rapidly oxidized to benzoic acid, the use of the hydrophobic sol-gel molecular electrode TEMPO DE affords benzaldehyde only (Figure 1.9), with an unprecedented purity, which is highly desirable for the fragrance and pharmaceutical industries where this aromatic aldehyde is employed in large amounts. 

Beside the MMFO mediated (phase I) reactions there are a few other major reactions that are worthy of note. The two major ones involve ester hydrolysis and alcohol and aldehyde dehydrogenases. All mammalian species have an extensive ability to hydrolyze the ester bond. The products of the reactions then can go on to be further metabolized. In the pharmaceutical industry, this property has been utilized to synthesize prodrugs that is, chemicals that have desirable pharmaceutical properties (generally increased water solubility) that are not converted to their active moiety until hydrolyzed in the body. 

The chiral compounds (/ )- and (5)-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenylethanol are particularly useful synthetic intermediates for the pharmaceutical industry, as the alcohol functionality can be easily transformed without a loss of stereospecificity and biological activity, and the trifluoromethyl functionalities slow the degradation of the compound by human metabolism. A very efficient process was recently demonstrated for the production of the (5)-enantiomer at >99% ee through ketone reduction catalyzed by the commercially available isolated alcohol dehydrogenase enzyme from Rhodococcus erythropolis (Figure 9.1). The (7 )-enantiomer could be generated at >99% ee as well using the isolated ketone reductase enzyme KRED-101. 

The balance of the industrial ethyl alcohol is in demand as a solvent in personal care products (aftershave lotion, mouthwash), inks, cosmetics, detergents, household cleaners, pharmaceuticals, industrial coatings, and as a processing solvent. 

Relatively little attention has been paid to the conversion of racemic compounds into their enantiomerically pure versions in a single process, in other words a deracemization. For certain classes of chiral compounds such as secondary alcohols, this approach should provide many benefits, particularly to the pharmaceutical industry. Existing routes to high value intermediates in their racemic form may be modified to provide the equivalent homochiral product, thus reducing the extent of development chemistry required. In addition, the... 

The pharmaceutical industry makes use of benzyl alcohol s local anesthetic, antiseptic, and solvent properties. It is used in nail lacquers and as a color developer in hair dyes by the cosmetics industry, and in acne treatment preparations. 

The unsaponifiables of woolwax, known as woolwax alcohols, are in considerable demand by cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. Woolwax has a great affinity for water, of which it will absorb 25 to 30%. Refined woolwax is kneaded with water to produce a water-white, colorless oiiilmenL, known as hydrous lanolin or lanolin USP. Anhydrous lanolin is widely used in cosmetic creams, since it is readily absorbed by the skin. It is also used m leather dressings and shoe pastes, as a superfatting agent for toilet soap, as a protective coating for metals, etc. United States consumption of wool wax is about 1.5 million lb/year. 

Esters obtained from alcohols and fatty acids have many remarkable applications. Those from long chain acids (12-20 carbon atoms) and short chain alcohols (3-8 carbon atoms) have been widely employed in the food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries (1). Natural esters such as those from jojoba oil, carnauba wax, and whale oil have been used. However, these oils are expensive and are not usually available in large amounts. Therefore, it is desirable to develop methods for the production of such esters using cheaper and more plentiful raw materials (2). 

Membrane polymeric materials for separation applications are made of polyamide, polypropylene, polyvinylidene fluoride, polysulfone, polyethersulfone, cellulose acetate, cellulose diacetate, polystyrene resins cross-linked with divinylbenzene, and others (see Section 2.9) [59-61], The use of polyamide membrane filters is suggested for particle-removing filtration of water, aqueous solutions and solvents, as well as for the sterile filtration of liquids. The polysulfone and polyethersulfone membranes are widely applied in the biotechnological and pharmaceutical industries for the purification of enzymes and peptides. Cellulose acetate membrane filters are hydrophilic, and consequently, are suitable as a filtering membrane for aqueous and alcoholic media. 

Many other controversies involving Eli Lilly and Company, the maker of Prozac, have raised further questions concerning pharmaceutical industry adherence to ethical practices and FDA standards. The media and the FDA have investigated Eli Lilly s use of homeless alcoholics as normal experimental subjects in Phase 1 studies (Cohen, 1996 NIH Queries... 

The importance of selecting gravimetry instead of volumetry to measure liquid amounts in the pharmaceutical industry of liquid dosage forms is well illustrated by the volume contraction of water-ethanol and volume expansion of ethyl acetate-carbon disulfide liquid mixtures as well as a CS2-ethyl acetate system. The National Formulary (NF) diluted alcohol is a typical example of the volume nonadditivity of liquid mixtures [29], This solution is prepared by mixing equal volumes of alcohol [U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP)] USP and purified water (USP). The final volume of this solution is about 3% less than the sum of the individual volumes because of the contraction due to the mixing phenomenon [1], In addition, molecular interactions of surfactants in mixed monolayers at the air-aqueous solution interface and in mixed micelles in aqueous media also cause some contraction of volume upon mixing [30],... 

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