Miniaturized chemistry
Miniaturization and automation of multicomponent and chemical synthesis reactions.
Introduction
The synthesis and exploration of chemical reaction conditions is traditionally a sequential and, thus, time-consuming process responsible for major bottlenecks in drug development. Therefore, researchers are increasingly adopting reaction miniaturization and multiplexing strategies to accelerate synthetic chemistry.
THE BENEFITS OF MINIATURIZATION
Miniaturization is a growing new technology that is increasingly affecting most analytical systems. Analytical devices on the micrometer scale are more attractive than their corresponding macro-scale devices for several reasons. For example, they use smaller volumes of reagents and are therefore cheaper, faster and less hazardous to use, as well as more environmentally attractive. Sizing laws compare the relative performance of a system as the system size changes and can predict the operational success of miniaturized chemical separation, reaction and sensing devices before they are manufactured. Some devices designed using basic scaling principles are now commercially available, and opportunities to miniaturize new and challenging analytical systems continue to arise.
How the I.DOT facilitates miniaturized chemistry
DISPENDIX develops innovative technologies for the highly multiplexed assembly of chemical reactions in the nL volume range. Specifically, the I.DOT allows for the easy miniaturization of reactions while maintaining the flexibility to run various types of workflows.
Save reagent costs and consumables
A typical example is observed in miniaturized chemistry where it is often essential to seek to save as much output as possible. Particularly through miniaturization in chemistry, it is usually attempted to synthesize as much quantity of molecules as possible. However, sometimes synthesis can be resource intensive and the yield may not be large. Therefore, to test the synthesized material, one can miniaturize all assays to be able to perform more tests with the little material gained from the synthesis.
The I.DOT can dispense volumes as small as 8 nL, allowing for extreme miniaturization of reaction volumes. Even the most complex liquid handling tasks can be performed in minutes due to the I.DOT’s highly parallel non-contact dispensing capability. The cost savings are often significant, especially since no pipette tips are required.
The I.DOT low-volume non-contact dispensing technology enables the highly multiplexed assembly of hundreds or thousands of reaction conditions within minutes. Up to 96 reagents can be loaded in parallel, allowing for the rapid generation and screening of multicomponent reactions in 1536-well plates or customized substrates and even higher density formats.
