Technology

Raman Optical Activity – A new route for chiral understanding

Our unique measurement technology was developed at ETH Zürich and measures an effect known as Raman optical activity (ROA), which has been widely studied and shown by researchers to have enormous potential for the measurement of pharmaceuticals. The wide adaptation of this measurement has been impossible before now because of the complexity of the instrumentation and the requirement for expert users. ENANTIOS’ patent-pending technology enables the full exploitation of this measurement in industry for the first time.

How does it work?

ROA is a scattering-based optical measurement technique. It looks at the small difference in circular polarization in the light scattered inelastically from a sample.

Raman optical activity
The image is showcasing how the machine looks like.

RAMAN VS. ROA

Raman scattering identifies the molecular fingerprint- but is blind to chirality (handedness). ROA can differentiate between enantiomers, determine enantiomeric excess and look at chiral structures of proteins and biologics.

APPLICATIONS

Chiral Small Molecules:

  • Absolute configuration
  • Isomeric/enantiomeric excess
  • No crystallization or HPLC required!

Biologics:

  • Secondary and tertiary structural motifs
  • Structural stability and degradation testing
  • Measurement in solution!