Photo caption: Kareem Abdur-Rashid (left) and Dr. Kamaluddin Abdur-Rashid (right).

Dr. Kamaluddin Abdur-Rashid (FST Alum, Department of Chemistry) and his son Kareem Abdur-Rashid  have teamed up to create a pharmaceutical technology company that develops catalytic processes for the commercial manufacture of pure, single component cannabinoids. The team is aiming to create environmentally friendly and sustainable cannabinoids that have a variety of medicinal uses.  Kamaluddin, after earning his PhD from The University of West Indies in Jamaica, joined the Morris Group in 1998 as a postdoctoral fellow where he initiated the lab’s catalytic hydrogenation work. Kareem is currently a master’s student in the Fekl Group at University of Toronto, Mississauga. “Our catalytic process is very efficient,” says Kareem. “Several aspects of green chemistry are incorporated in the cannabinoid manufacturing process. The precursor for the manufacture of our cannabinoids is the agricultural by-product limonene which is obtained from orange peels. All solvents used in the manufacturing are recovered, recycled, and re-used. The spent catalyst is recovered and reprocessed. This allows for an environmentally friendly and sustainable manufacturing process.”

Read more: https://www.chemistry.utoronto.ca/news/father-and-son-team-create-green-cannabinoids