SYNTHESIS OF IBUPROFEN

Ibuprofen is available over-he-counter to relieve the pain, stiffness and inflammation that may accompany a number of disorders. it is similar in aspirin the way it works and in the way it can be used, because it acts as an analgesic as well as anti-inflammatory, it is an effective treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, ostheoarthitis, and gout. it also relieves mild to moderate headache, menstrual pains, pain from soft tissue, injuries and following operations.  sometimes Ibuprofen is prescribed along with slower acting drugs in the treatment of Rheumatoid arthritis.

The making of Ibuprofen begins with the compound Isobutyl benzene.

Step1:  a Friedel-Crafts acylation that uses the catalyst aluminum-chloride that generates aluminum trichloride hydrate as waste by-product.

Step 2: a Darzens reaction with ethyl-chloroacetate that results in an epoxy ester compound.

Step 3: involves decarboxylation and hydrolyzation forming an aldehyde.

Step 4: a reaction with hydroxylamine giving anoxime.

Step 5: the oxime is converted to a nitrile.

Step 6: hydrolyzation of the nitrile resulting in the final product 2,4-isobutylphenyl-propanoic acid.

This process has a 40% atom economy which translates into 60% waste products. This means that if 30 million pounds of Ibuprofen is produced each year, then more than 35 million pounds of waste is generated.

The green synthesis of Ibuprofen also begins with the compound isobutyl benzene

Step 1: a Friedel-Crafts acylation using hydrogen fluoride as the catalyst that can be recovered and reused.

Step 2: involves hydrogenation with Raney nickel, which is recovered and reused, to produce an alcohol.

Step 3: the alcohol undergoes carbonylation with the catalyst, palladium, also recovered and reused, to produce Ibuprofen or 2,4-isobutyl-phenylpropanoic acid.

This process has a 99% atom economy, includes the recovered acetic acid that was generated in Step 1. This means that only 1% is waste by-products which Translated to less than 500,000 pounds of waste for the production of 30 million pounds of Ibuprofen.