ABSTRACT
During the last centuries, many people did not survive diseases that can be easily treated today by the use of pharmaceuticals such as antibiotics. On the contrary, this century developed countries face an aging revolution, suffering from neurodegenerative diseases and a higher proliferation of different types of cancers. The industrial synthesis of fine chemicals such as pharmaceuticals, perfumes, cosmetics and flavourings is a trillion dollar market with the aim of finding solution to such health problems. Although every year new drugs appear in order to better treat this problems, the high complexity of the pharmacologically active compounds requires expensive and hazarous chemical processes to produce them, which has a negative environmental impact. Due to the large volume of production and, more importantly, the high cost of the processes, it is necessary to develop more efficient catalysts able to increase the yield of the desired product. In relation to the low efficiency of the synthesis of pharmaceuticals, it is estimated that the kilograms of residue generated per kilogram of pharmaceutical component is between 20 and 100 (see E factor later on this chapter). Obviously it is contradictory that in order to solve health problems, we are affecting our health by the way we are doing those chemical processes.
