News Picture Generic

Automation of synthesis in medicinal chemistry: progress and challenges

April 1, 2021

ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters

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.

For details: 
Automation of synthesis in medicinal chemistry: progress and challenges

Elizabeth Farrant

New Path Molecular Research Ltd, Building 580, Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge CB22 3AT, U.K.

ACS Med. Chem. Lett. 2020, 11, 8, 1506-1513 
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsmedchemlett.0c00292
Copyright © 2020 American Chemical Society

For more information about Chemspeed solutions:

FLEX ISYNTH for library synthesis

ISYNTH AI

ISYNTH REACTSCREEN

For details please contact [email protected]

Other Recent News

Discover more news articles you might be interested in

Read more about Continuous Flow Synthesis of Diglycolamides for Rare-Earth Elements Recovery: Algorithm-Accelerated Reaction Optimization Coupled with Automated Extraction Evaluation
News Picture 1 1 V2
Featured
Jun
23

Continuous Flow Synthesis of Diglycolamides for Rare-Earth Elements Recovery: Algorithm-Accelerated Reaction Optimization Coupled with Automated Extraction Evaluation

A first example of diglycolamide flow synthesis was developed, showcasing algorithm-accelerated reaction optimization and its potential to accelerate ligand discovery and enable autonomous, AIcontrolled manufacturing of critical materials. The increasing demand for manufacturing rare-earth elements (REEs) as critical materials has intensified research on sustainable synthesis of advanced extractants such as diglycolamides (DGAs).

Read more about Identifying critical powder properties for high-throughput dispensing of alumina and organic templates
News Picture 1 1 V2
Jun
16

Identifying critical powder properties for high-throughput dispensing of alumina and organic templates

Screening powder properties such as flowability, compressibility, and particle geometry is crucial for controlling ceramic processing, particularly in automated workflows that demand high reproducibility. Sacrificial templating for porous ceramics is well suited to automation because it is prone to variability arising from manual handling.

© Chemspeed Technologies 2026