Resolution of enantiomers is still an important procedure in process chemistry, despite the availability of other strategies  The book by Wilen, Collet and Jacques (Enantiomers, Racemates and Resolution, Wiley-Interscience, NY, reprinted in 1991) still remains the “bible” of resolution for most chemists.

Recently books by the Hungarian David Kozma (Optical Resolution via Diastereomeric Salt Formation, CRC Press, London, 2002) and Torla (Enantiomer Separation, Fundamentals and Practical Methods, Kluwer, Academic Press, Dordrecht, 2004  (chapter by Faigl and Kozma, p73) have updates on the latest methods.

Of course one of the other Hungarian names associated with resolution technology is Elemér Fogassy, who has been publishing important papers on resolution for the last 30 years.  He and his colleagues have now produced a new review (Faigl F et al, Tetrahedron Asymmetry, 2008, 19, 519-536) which presents guidelines for selecting the optimal method for resolving a given racemate with emphasis on industrially important compounds.  Methods for predicting the efficiency of the resolution, based on the analysis of physico-chemical properties of the reactants, are also discussed.

NB. The Hungarians David Kozma and Katya Marti teach Scientific Update’s course on Separation of Enantiomers. For more information about this course, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it