Analytical
Chimie combinatoire

Alongside robotic technologies, the field of analytics has undergone profound changes thanks to combinatorial chemistry. Whereas in classical chemistry, the analysis of a compound takes place when it is purified, combinatorial chemistry analysis must demonstrate before purification that the product is present in the reaction medium. Analysis throughput must be high, since several hundred products need to be characterized per day.

The most appropriate technique that has caught the attention of companies is liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC/MS). Thanks to small, high-pressure columns (5 cm long, as opposed to the classic 15-20 cm), liquid chromatography enables purity analysis of a reaction medium in around 5 minutes. Supercritical chromatography, which uses new mobile phases (methanol and liquid CO ₂), meanwhile, reduces analysis time to around one minute....