Process Development Automation:  An Evolutionary Approach

Abstract

As it matures in the research laboratory as a tool for the combinatorial chemist, automation is now moving into the development area. However, the classical combinatorial robot is not appropriate for all development activities, as it is primarily a serial device and lacks on-line analysisoften a key requirement for high-speed development. Automation equipment is becoming commercially available to cover all three development stagesroute scouting, process optimisation, and final process definitionbut it is often highly specific, expensive, complex and may not offer a complete solution. In contrast, standard laboratory equipment already contains some automated capabilities but is normally unused in our automation strategies. This presentation will discuss issues related to a stepwise and unified approach to automation across all three stages, using existing standard laboratory equipment. Examples from diverse areas including calorimetry, DoE, crystallisation studies, and plant simulation will be discussed along with equipment and computer issues. Inexpensive commercial software is now available to control these systems, or software can be developed using modern visual development environments. This is not rocket scienceyou have the technology!