Cronin Group Builds Chemputer to Chemify Chemical Space
Cronin group researchers have built a “Chemputer” chemical computer system, coupled with a chemical programming language, allowing researchers to reliably and automatically synthesise organic molecules. In the research, published in Science, this approach was used to synthesise three pharmaceutical compounds – Nytol, rufinamide, and sildenafil – without any human interaction, and with yields comparable to or better than those achieved manually. The digital code for these processes can be published, versioned, and transferred flexibly between platforms with no modification, thereby greatly enhancing reproducibility and reliable access to complex molecules.
This research represents a leap forward in the ultimate aim to develop a commercial, universal chemical computer, that could revolutionise chemistry.It has been covered by multiple news sites including Chemistry World and C&EN. Further information and code can be found on the project homepage and on the Chemputer twitter feed.
Click the news item image to see the Chemputer process in action.