Abstract:

Developing automated platforms is essential for accelerating the preparation of bioactive compound libraries. After a decade of biopolymer synthesis, it is clear that automating these processes was pivotal to the development of biochemistry and chemical biology for advancing medicinal chemistry and for providing new diagnoses and therapeutic tools. Synthesis of glycans and glycoconjugates is far more complicated than the other biopolymer families. Automating glycan synthesis has been a long and hard journey which is still ongoing. This chapter focuses on the development of a commercial platform, Glyconeer™, aimed to automate the synthesis of glycans. The design and process leading to the establishment of the current setup are described. The unique considerations required from a system that is suitable for glycan synthesis are the focus of the chapter. We explain how the selected setup architecture and its unique features comply with the unusual demands of automated solid phase synthesis of glycans. We will present the common modules, building blocks, and chemistries used by the synthesizer. Preparation, handling, and running of both software and hardware are presented from the user point of view. A critical view of the limitations and advantages of the system is aimed to provide a roadmap for future improvement.