Speed up the drug development process! New breakthrough in molecular crystallization technology

Recently, chemical experts from the University of Newcastle and Durham University, in collaboration with SPT Labtech , have successfully developed a new technology to grow crystals of organic soluble molecules from nano-scale droplets, a new molecular crystallization method that can obtain high-quality monocrystals in a matter of days, with only a few milligrams of analysisTheir innovative approach involves the use of inert oils to control the loss of evaporative solvents and has the potential to enhance the drug development processThe study was published in the journal Chemthis new method of high-efficiency crystallization is called encapsulated nanodrop crystallization (ENaCt), the researchers say, by using this method, hundreds of crystallization experiments can be built in minutesEach experiment involves several micrograms of molecular analysis dissolved in several nanoliter organic solvents and is automated to quickly and easily establish hundreds of unique experimentsThe concentration of these nanodrop experiments has led to the growth of the high-quality monocrystals required for modern X-ray diffraction analysisMichael JHall, senior lecturer in chemistry at the University of Newcastle,set theprotocol schematic, said: "We developed nano-scale crystallization technology for small organic soluble small molecules, which uses high-throughput liquid handling robots to conduct multiple crystallization experiments simultaneously, with very few samples required and a high success rateThe new approach has the potential to have far-reaching effects in molecular science and beyond, and basic research will benefit from highly detailed representation of new molecules (e.gnatural products or complex synthetic molecules) through X-ray crystallography, which are evolving and will accelerate the pharmaceutical industry's production of new drugs by rapidly acquiring the characteristic crystallised form of new active pharmaceutical ingredientsPaul Thaw, from SPT Labtech,, said: "Working with the Newcastle team has enabled this work to develop a novel, high-throughput single-crystal X-ray diffraction method that can quickly screen organic soluble micromolecule micrograms and will provide valuable insights for academic research as well as drug design and validationresearchers believe ENaCt could rewrite molecular science, a new crystallography method that could change the scientific landscape of analyzing small molecules, including drug discovery, drug delivery and crystal solidsReference source: doi.org/10.1016/j.chempr.2020.04.009