Implementation of a novel method for high-throughput screening of reactions in microdroplets. The reaction and analysis steps are performed simultaneously using desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (DESI-MS) at a rate of up to 1 reaction mixture per second.

This study describes the latest generation of a high-throughput screening system that is capable of screening thousands of organic reactions in a single day. This system combines a liquid handling robot with desorption electrospray ionization (DESI) mass spectrometry (MS) for a rapid reaction mixture preparation, accelerated synthesis, and automated MS analysis. A total of 3840 unique reductive amination reactions were screened to demonstrate the throughputs that are capable with the system. Products, byproducts, and intermediates were all monitored in full-scan mass spectra, generating a complete view of the reaction progress. Tandem mass spectrometry experiments were conducted to verify the identity of the products formed. The amine and electrophile reactivity trends represented in the data match what is expected from theory, indicating that the system accurately models the reaction performance. The DESI results correlated well with those generated using more traditional mass spectrometry techniques like liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry, validating the data generated by the system.

Nucleophilic aromatic substitution (SNAr) reactions were optimized using high-throughput experimentation techniques for execution under flow conditions. A total of 3072 unique reactions were evaluated with an analysis time of ∼3.5 s per reaction using a system that combines a liquid handling robot for reaction mixture preparation with desorption electrospray ionization (DESI) mass spectrometry (MS) for analysis. The reactions were performed in bulk microtiter arrays with and without incubation. In-house developed software was used to process the data and generate heat maps of the results. This information was then used to select the most promising conditions for continuous synthesis under microfluidic reactor conditions. Our results show that this HTE approach provides robust guidance for narrowing the range of conditions needed for optimization of SNAr reactions.