Patent ID: 6518067
Filing Date: 2003-02-11
Classification: B01J,C07B,C07H,C07K,C40B

Abstract:
An apparatus for an automated simultaneous chemical synthesis and optional purification which apparatus has separate reaction vessels/reactors (4), which are open at the top and at the bottom, in the form of channels/reaction channels or columns/reaction columns which are arranged in parallel in a block/reactor block (9) and which are removable either together or separately; wherein a solid phase support material (5) for the synthesis is placed in the reaction vessels/reactors (4), said support material either being arranged between two inert porous frit plates (6, 6â€²) or being itself in the form of chemically modified frit or filter plates, so that liquid media added from above can be held in the reaction vessels/reactors (4) solely as a result of surface tension and wetting of the support material (5); and optionally an inert gas supply is provided, and the block/reactor block (9) is mounted on a trough (7) connected to a vacuum pump (11) by means of a switchable valve (18) so that liquid media can be aspirated simultaneously from the reaction vessel/reactors (4) and the support materials (5) contained therein, wherein the upper inlets to the reaction vessels/reactors (4) in the reactor block (9) are covered by a perforated screen (10) mounted above them or a baffle plate (10) mounted above them, so that the reaction vessels/reactors (4) can be flooded with an inert gas and the flow of inert gas can optionally be increased considerably during the aspirating procedure; or the space above the reaction vessels/reactors (4) can be selectively closed off by means of a displaceable perforated screen so that the reagents can be blown out of the reaction vessels/reactors (4) by pressurized inert gas;wherein the apparatus is provided with an xyz-pipetting robot, having electronically controllable dispensing syringes/dilutors (15, 15â€², 15â€³) having one or more dispensing needles (13) and optionally, in addition, having one or more dispensing manifolds (19), so that chemical building blocks, reagents and solvents can be distributed to the reaction vessels/reactors (4) and each of the reaction vessels/reactors (4) can be addressed individually; and wherein each dispensing needle (13) is equipped with a plurality of, at least two, internal channels, which are connected to separate dispensing syringes/dilutors (15, 15â€², 15â€³) wherein the internal channels can be filled separately by the separate dispensing syringes, and wherein the ends of which channels meet only shortly before the outlet (FIG. 8), so that, when a plurality of reagents are being dispensed simultaneously, mixing occurs only shortly before delivery of the tip of the dispensing needle (13); a channel optionally being connected to the inert gas supply also, so that a pulse of inert gas can expel the mixed volume.