Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 8, 2025

Automated Modular High Throughput Exopolysaccharide Screening Platform Coupled with Highly Sensitive Carbohydrate Fingerprint Analysis
Published on: April 11, 2016
Statistically driven automated method for catalytic glucose conversion optimisation
Joseph Install1, Rui Zhang1, Jukka Hietala2
1Department of Chemistry, University of Helsinki A. I. Virtasen aukio 1, P.O. Box 55 00014 Finland timo.repo@helsinki.fi.
Abstract:
A statistically driven, automated approach to optimize glucose transformations to platform chemicals, methyl lactate and levulinic acid, is reported. The combination of a robotic synthesis platform with design of experiments methods enabled efficient and precise modelling of glucose conversion catalysed by SnCl4·5H2O with 0-100% H2O and methanol as a cosolvent. Using this strategy, optimal reaction conditions within the available reaction space were identified in 58 runs, showcasing the excellent efficiency of this method in producing high yields of methyl lactate (75.9%) and levulinic acid (64.5%) in independent reactions via distinct retro-aldol condensation and dehydration pathways, respectively.

