Engineering Advances in Asymmetric Catalysis: Scalable and Sustainable Synthesis

Dear Colleagues,

Enantioselectivity is extremely important to pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and fine chemicals, directly impacting efficacy, safety, and performance in biological systems. Asymmetric synthesis remains the most promising method to achieve high enantioselectivity, primarily through chiral auxiliaries and chiral catalysts. While both strategies are effective, chiral catalysis has gained prominence due to its ability to produce enantio-pure products efficiently with minimal catalyst loading, making it more cost-effective and scalable for industrial applications.

Despite progress, traditional asymmetric catalysis faces challenges, such as harsh reaction conditions and the need for stoichiometric oxidants/reductants. To overcome these limitations, engineered hybrid systems, integrating photoredox, electrochemical, or biocatalytic approaches with transition-metal catalysis, have emerged. Photoredox catalysis enables mild, visible-light-driven radical transformations, while electrocatalysis offers a sustainable platform by using electron transfer to bypass stoichiometric reagents. Biocatalysis exploits the inherent chirality of enzymes or microbial systems, achieving high stereoselectivity under aqueous, environmentally benign conditions, aligning with green chemistry and sustainable process engineering.

Translating laboratory breakthroughs into industrial-scale production is now a key focus for chemists and process engineers. Continuous-flow systems, with precise reaction control, enhanced reproducibility, and scalability, have become the preferred engineering solution for large-scale transition-metal, photo-, and electrocatalysis. Advances in biochemical engineering, including enzyme immobilization, reactor design, and bioprocess optimization, have further enabled scalable asymmetric biocatalysis. The integration of these catalytic strategies into continuous-flow reactors, alongside innovations in process intensification and industrial-scale engineering, represents a critical frontier in modern chemical manufacturing. Additionally, the synergy of computational modeling, machine learning, and automated high-throughput screening accelerates catalyst discovery and reaction optimization, bridging the gap between lab-scale synthesis and industrial process engineering.

This Special Issue focuses on engineering-driven advances that enable the scalable and sustainable production of enantiopure compounds. We welcome studies on continuous-flow reactor design, industrial process optimization, green catalytic technologies, and biochemical engineering approaches for asymmetric synthesis.

Dr. Yao Tang
Dr. Jun Chen
Guest Editors

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