Innovative Flow Chemistry Platform Does More, Faster, Easier

Chemists working in the drug discovery field are under increasing pressure to develop more compounds, quicker. Two key time consuming steps are the optimization of reactions and the subsequent scale-up of compounds of interest.

Much interest had been focused in the last few years on flow chemistry because it offers

• the potential for completely unattended optimization of reaction conditions without large investment
• pressurized reactions, permitting higher temperatures and hence the same speed advantages previously demonstrated by microwave synthesis systems
• rapid and straightforward scale-up with minimal further process development.

With the launch of the VapourtecR Series Flow Chemistry system, this potential is now fully realized. Extensive consultation with users has led to an innovative second generation design addressing the shortcomings of early systems, and offering many key benefits.

More flexibility

• the Vapourtec R4 system features 4 independently temperature controllable reactor stations, with each one capable of accepting a tube or packed column reactor. This makes it possible to run multi-step reactions as a continuous sequence.
• Highly exothermic reactions that would be unsafe using batch methods at the required scale can be performed under complete control because of extremely high heat transfer capability.

More precise control:

• advanced control of reagent pumps so that static or transient air bubbles are detected immediately
• measurement of control temperature right at the point of reaction
• unique reactor design means the reaction is fully visible at all times, enabling early diagnosis of any reaction issues (phase change or precipitation)

As a result of this precision, reactions are completely reproducible and scale-up is immediate with no further process development required.

Higher throughput

• the unique design of the Vapourtec reactor provides unmatched heat transfer capability which enables more rapid transition between temperature set-points, speeding up the optimization process.
• PC software is available that automates the setup of basic parameters, runs the whole integrated platform (including external equipment such as fraction collectors) and recalculates all the parameters required when it's time to scale-up using a bigger reactor. One chemist can save proven reaction conditions and email them to another chemist, who can then immediately repeat the reaction at a larger scale with no development.

More Cost Effective

• Because scale-up is so straightforward, initial optimization can be confidently performed at very small scale, reducing consumption of expensive reagents.

Brochures, application notes, and publications from early users (ranging from academic labs to blue chip pharmaceutical groups) can all be found via the article webpage.