A new, mild and efficient protocol for the synthesis of trifluoromethyl(indolyl)phenylmethanols by the reaction of indoles with a variety of aromatic fluoromethyl ketones in the presence of K2CO3 (15 mol %) and n-Bu4PBr (15 mol %) in water. The desired products were obtained in good to excellent yields without requiring a column chromatographic purification. The reusability of the catalytic system and large-scale synthesis of indolyl(phenyl)methanols, which would further transform into biological active indole-derived compounds, are further advantages of this protocol.

A novel, versatile approach for the synthesis of unsymmetrical 3,3'-diindolylmethanes (DIMs) with a quaternary carbon center has been developed via iodine-catalyzed coupling of trifluoromethyl(indolyl)phenylmethanols with indoles. In contrast to previously reported methods, the new procedure is characterized by chemoselectivity, mild conditions, high yields, and scalability to obtain gram amounts for biological studies. Selected compounds were found to display affinity for cannabinoid receptors, which are promising drug targets for the treatment of inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases.

The potential of vinasse, gained from baker 0 s yeast production for the recovery of valuable molecules (invertase, food grade proteins and betaine), has been assessed. Particularly natural betaine, a trimethyl derivative of glycine, attracts more and more attention in human and animal nutrition. In this work, a straightforward membrane-based process for the recovery of natural betaine and a very promising betaine-rich protein fraction from fermentation broth of baker 0 s yeast was developed. The difficult separation of external invertase from yeast cells was observed in this work. Anyway, a residual invertase activity was found in vinasse, but it could not be efficiently purified to generate an industrial-strength product. The presented process can be easily implemented in a conventional baker's yeast production plant by integrating an ultrafiltration station and an adsorption system. Based on our calculations, a potential recovery up to 1486 t year À1 of betaine-rich proteins (5 € kg À1 ) and 593 t year À1 Betafin Ò similar natural betaine (6-7 € kg À1 ) may be achieved. Fractionation of baker's yeast vinasse J. Lisi car Vuku si c et al. Fractionation of baker's yeast vinasse J. Lisi car Vuku si c et al.

A new, mild and efficient protocol for the synthesis of trifluoromethyl-indolyl-phenylethanols by the reaction of indoles with a variety of aromatic fluoromethyl ketones in the presence of K2CO3 (15 mol%) and nBu4PBr (15 mol%) in water. The desired products were obtained in good to excellent yields without requiring the column chromatography purification. The reusability of the catalytic system and large-scale synthesis of indolyl-phenylethanols, which would further transform into biological active indole-derived compounds, are further advantages of this protocol.