Dr. Dipanjan Pan from the University of Illinois has developed compounds featuring carbon nanoparticles (CNPs), which enantioselectively absorb chiral molecules. This allows for the separation of racemic mixtures. These CNPs are inexpensive to produce and result in better or comparable enantiomeric excess in relation to similar adsorbents. These chiral CNPs are biodegradable, allowing for simple removal by enzyme after separation is complete. This technology is very useful for separating racemic mixtures when a specific enantiomer is targeted. 

Benefits
• This technology is a cost effective means of chiral resolution which does not suffer from the toxicity and reactivity issues that other chiral nanoparticles do.
• The chiral CNPs are biodegradable.
• Chiral CNPs are less toxic and less reactive than current chiral nanoparticle technologies