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. 2020 Jul 16;11(8):1506-1513.
doi: 10.1021/acsmedchemlett.0c00292. eCollection 2020 Aug 13.

Automation of Synthesis in Medicinal Chemistry: Progress and Challenges

Elizabeth Farrant  1
Affiliations

Automation of Synthesis in Medicinal Chemistry: Progress and Challenges

Elizabeth Farrant. ACS Med Chem Lett. .

Abstract

Since the 1990s, concerted attempts have been made to improve the efficiency of medicinal chemistry synthesis tasks using automation. Although impacts have been seen in some tasks, such as small array synthesis and reaction optimization, many synthesis tasks in medicinal chemistry are still manual. As it has been shown that synthesis technology has a large effect on the properties of the compounds being tested, this review looks at recent research in automation relevant to synthesis in medicinal chemistry. A common theme has been the integration of tasks, as well as the use of increased computing power to access complex automation platforms remotely and to improve synthesis planning software. However, there has been more limited progress in modular tools for the medicinal chemist with a focus on autonomy rather than automation.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author declares the following competing financial interest(s): Elizabeth Farrant is an employee and shareholder of New Path Molecular Research.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The properties of a substrate in solid supported synthesis are largely related to the polymer support due to the relative sizes.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Design-make test cycle or “closed loop”.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Coverage of initially targeted chemistry space is significantly reduced by synthesis and purification failures (data from Churcher et al.).
Scheme 1
Scheme 1. Dearomative Synthesis of Bridged 1,3-Diazepanes Using Photochemistry
Figure 4
Figure 4
Features of automation vs autonomy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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