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Updated: Nov 2, 2025

Hierarchical and Programmable One-Pot Oligosaccharide Synthesis
Published on: September 6, 2019
An integrated console for capsule-based, automated organic synthesis
Tuo Jiang1,2, Samuele Bordi1, Angus E McMillan1
1Laboratory for Organic Chemistry, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zürich 8093 Zürich Switzerland bode@org.chem.ethz.ch.
Abstract:
The current laboratory practices of organic synthesis are labor intensive, impose safety and environmental hazards, and hamper the implementation of artificial intelligence guided drug discovery. Using a combination of reagent design, hardware engineering, and a simple operating system we provide an instrument capable of executing complex organic reactions with prepacked capsules. The machine conducts coupling reactions and delivers the purified products with minimal user involvement. Two desirable reaction classes - the synthesis of saturated N-heterocycles and reductive amination - were implemented, along with multi-step sequences that provide drug-like organic molecules in a fully automated manner. We envision that this system will serve as a console for developers to provide synthetic methods as integrated, user-friendly packages for conducting organic synthesis in a safe and convenient fashion.
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