Sustainable production of dopamine hydrochloride from softwood lignin

Lin Dong; Yanqin Wang; Yuguo Dong; Yin Zhang; Mingzhu Pan; Xiaohui Liu; Xiaoli Gu; Markus Antonietti; Zupeng Chen

doi:10.1038/s41467-023-40702-2

Nature Communications (Aug 2023)

Sustainable production of dopamine hydrochloride from softwood lignin

Lin Dong,
Yanqin Wang,
Yuguo Dong,
Yin Zhang,
Mingzhu Pan,
Xiaohui Liu,
Xiaoli Gu,
Markus Antonietti,
Zupeng Chen

Affiliations

Lin Dong: Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, International Innovation Center for Forest Chemicals and Materials, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University
Yanqin Wang: Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials and Joint International Research Laboratory of Precision Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Feringa Nobel Prize Scientist Joint Research Center, Research Institute of Industrial Catalysis, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology
Yuguo Dong: Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, International Innovation Center for Forest Chemicals and Materials, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University
Yin Zhang: Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, International Innovation Center for Forest Chemicals and Materials, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University
Mingzhu Pan: Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, International Innovation Center for Forest Chemicals and Materials, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University
Xiaohui Liu: Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials and Joint International Research Laboratory of Precision Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Feringa Nobel Prize Scientist Joint Research Center, Research Institute of Industrial Catalysis, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology
Xiaoli Gu: Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, International Innovation Center for Forest Chemicals and Materials, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University
Markus Antonietti: Department of Colloid Chemistry, Max-Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Research Campus Golm
Zupeng Chen: Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, International Innovation Center for Forest Chemicals and Materials, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-40702-2
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 14, no. 1
pp. 1 – 10

Abstract

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Abstract Dopamine is not only a widely used commodity pharmaceutical for treating neurological diseases but also a highly attractive base for advanced carbon materials. Lignin, the waste from the lignocellulosic biomass industry, is the richest source of renewable aromatics on earth. Efficient production of dopamine direct from lignin is a highly desirable target but extremely challenging. Here, we report an innovative strategy for the sustainable production of dopamine hydrochloride from softwood lignin with a mass yield of 6.4 wt.%. Significantly, the solid dopamine hydrochloride is obtained by a simple filtration process in purity of 98.0%, which avoids the tedious separation and purification steps. The approach begins with the acid-catalyzed depolymerization, followed by deprotection, hydrogen-borrowing amination, and hydrolysis of methoxy group, transforming lignin into dopamine hydrochloride. The technical economic analysis predicts that this process is an economically competitive production process. This study fulfills the unexplored potential of dopamine hydrochloride synthesis from lignin.

Published in Nature Communications

ISSN: 2041-1723 (Online)
Publisher: Nature Portfolio
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Science
Website: https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

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