Efficient racemization of the pharmaceutical compound Levetiracetam using solvent-free mechanochemistry
(2025) RSC Mechanochemistry — Vol. 2, n° 1, p. 83-90 (2025)
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- Authors
Lopes, Chrystal 
Emmerling, Franziska
- Abstract
- We present the racemization of an active pharmaceutical ingredient Levetiracetam using a novel approach. We demonstrate the design of a 100% solvent-free process that proceeds by high energy milling inside a regular mixer mill. The kinetics of the racemization process is drastically improved compared to the solution-based approach and illustrates the tremendous potential of mechanochemistry. In this study, we highlight the importance of mixing efficiency regarding data reproducibility, and we show, in particular, that water contamination has a negative impact on the reaction rate. Moreover, in situ X-ray diffraction gives us first insights into the mechanisms involved in the solid state during the mechanochemical racemization process.
- Affiliations
Citations
Lopes, C., Casali, L., Emmerling, F., Leyssens, T., Dupray, V., Brandel, C., & Cartigny, Y. (2025). Efficient racemization of the pharmaceutical compound Levetiracetam using solvent-free mechanochemistry. RSC Mechanochemistry, 2(1), 83-90. https://doi.org/10.1039/d4mr00103f (Original work published 2025)