Greening the pharmaceutical industry: green chemistry in drug development

Abstract

Without a doubt, chemical contamination of the environment is one of the biggest problems today. By definition, a chemical pollutant is a substance that should not be naturally in that precise place. These substances can enter our body through air, food, water or even through the skin. Persistent exposure to these materials can cause dangerous sickness. An example of this is Bisphenol A, a substance used to produce plastics. Bisphenol A has a very similar structure to hormones, so being exposed to this substance can affect our metabolism, make us infertile or even cause cancer, and this is only one substance among thousands. Most of this type of contaminant comes from industry. Fortunately, these problems spawned the rise of green chemistry. This article discusses some green experimental and computational strategies that both the pharmaceutical industry and groups focused on drug development have implemented to make these processes more sustainable and ecological.