Contemporary materials discovery requires intricate sequences of synthesis, formulation, and characterization that often span multiple locations with specialized expertise or instrumentation. To accelerate these workflows, we present a cloud-based strategy that enabled delocalized and asynchronous design-make-test-analyze cycles. We showcased this approach through the exploration of molecular gain materials for organic solid-state lasers as a frontier application in molecular optoelectronics. Distributed robotic synthesis and in-line property characterization, orchestrated by a cloud-based artificial intelligence experiment planner, resulted in the discovery of 21 new state-of-the-art materials. Gram-scale synthesis ultimately allowed for the verification of best-in-class stimulated emission in a thin-film device. Demonstrating the asynchronous integration of five laboratories across the globe, this workflow provides a blueprint for delocalizing-and democratizing-scientific discovery.
Robotic systems for synthetic chemistry are becoming more common, but they are expensive, fixed to a narrow set of reactions, and must be used within a complex laboratory environment. A portable system that could synthesize known molecules anywhere, on demand, and in a fully automated way, could revolutionize access to important molecules. Here we present a portable suitcase-sized chemical synthesis platform containing all the modules required for synthesis and purification. The system uses a chemical programming language coupled to a digital reactor generator to produce reactors and executable protocols based on text-based literature syntheses. Simultaneously, the platform generates a reaction pressure fingerprint, used to monitor processes within the reactors and remotely perform a protocol quality control. We demonstrate the system by synthesizing five small organic molecules, four oligopeptides and four oligonucleotides, in good yields and purities, with a total of 24,936 base steps executed over 329 h of platform runtime.
Oligonucleotides
We describe a system, ChemSCAD, for the creation of digital reactors based on the chemical operations, physical parameters, and synthetic sequence to produce a given target compound, to show that the system can translate the gram-scale batch synthesis of the antiviral compound Ribavirin (yield 43% over three steps), the narcolepsy drug Modafinil (yield 60% over three steps), and both batch and flow instances of the synthesis of the anticancer agent Lomustine (batch yield 65% over two steps) in purities greater than or equal to 96%. The syntheses of compounds developed using the ChemSCAD system, including reactor designs and analytical data, can be stored in a database repository, with the information necessary to critically evaluate and improve upon reactionware syntheses being easily shared and versioned.
A novel catalytic asymmetric three-component intermolecular sulfa-Michael/Mannich cascade reaction has been developed using a chiral multifunctional catalyst. This reaction provides facile access to 1-amino-2-nitro-3-organosulfur compounds bearing three consecutive stereocenters in high yields (up to 96%) with good diastereo- (up to 91:4:4:1 dr) and excellent enantioselectivities (93-99% ee). Furthermore, the products of this reaction could be facilely transformed into potentially bioactive 1, 2-diamino-3-organosulfur compounds and 2-nitro allylic amines.
A series of multifunctional catalysts with two chiral diaminocyclohexane units were developed and successfully applied in the asymmetric oxa-Michael-aza-Henry cascade reaction of salicylaldimines with nitroolefins. This approach provides a simple and efficient entry to polysubstituted chiral 4-aminobenzopyrans with three consecutive stereocenters and in high yield (up to 97%) with excellent stereoselectivity (up to 98% ee and >99:1 dr). Facile access to the nonsymmetric optically pure 3,4-diaminochromanes was also obtained.
Chromans/chemical synthesis , Catalysis , Chromans/chemistry , Molecular Structure , Stereoisomerism
