Scaling Up Attrition-Enhanced Deracemization by Use of an Industrial Bead Mill in a Route to Clopidogrel (Plavix)

The recently discovered technique of deracemization by means of grinding a racemic conglomerate in contact with a solution wherein racemization occurs has been scaled up using an industrial bead mill to demonstrate the practical applicability. The time needed to reach the enantiopure end state is drastically reduced as a result of the efficient grinding that can be achieved using bead mills.