Complete Deracemization of Proteinogenic Glutamic Acid Using Viedma Ripening on a Metastable Conglomerate

Viedma ripening is a process in which a compound that forms a stable racemic conglomerate can be converted to an enantiomerically pure solid state. Combining this deracemization process with Ostwald’s rule of stages, allows Viedma ripening to be extended to a racemic compound for which the conglomerate exists only in a metastable form. This is demonstrated for glutamic acid, a proteinogenic amino acid. Since Ostwald ripening is one of the processes occurring during Viedma ripening, we thus make use of Ostwald twice.