An innovative and efficient method to synthesize meloxicam in one-step procedure with respect to the green chemistry

International audience; An improved procedure for the synthesis of meloxicam drug (methyl 4-hydroxy-2-methyl-2H-1,2-benzothiazol-2-amine-3-carboxylate 1,1-dioxide) was described in one-step using mainly impregnated montmorillonite K10 (MK10) with ZnCl 2 as a heterogeneous catalyst. This innovative method was compared to the last described procedure employed in the manufacture of this anti-inflammatory drug by means of some metrics used in a first step of the evaluation process of the environmental impact of a chemical transformation. Apart from the yield, which was 90%, atom economy, waste, environmental factor, reaction mass efficiency and stoichiometric factor were calculated as 91.6%, 8.4%, 0, 8.1% and 1%, respectively. Interpretation of these metrics was given and highlighted the fact that the strategy used in the current study may be considered as an environmental-friendly and sustainable method that fits well in the green chemistry concepts. © 2018, Iranian Chemical Society.