HP 1100 Series combinatorial chemistry system with Gilson 233 XL sampling injector.

SPEEDING THE TIME-TO-MARKET PROCESS FOR PHARMACEUTICALS Combinatorial Chemistry -- Fully Automated

Success in a pharmaceutical world with ever-increasing demands often translates into accelerating the time-to-market process and reducing the cost of producing drugs. Combinatorial chemistry is a technique that allows vast quantities of compounds with high molecular diversity to be synthesized, screened and analyzed in a short time, ultimately reducing the time to market. Hewlett-Packard's new fully automated combinatorial chemistry analysis system is designed to simplify this process.

The fully automated HP 1100 Series combinatorial chemistry analysis system combines the proven HP 1100 Series HPLC modules and systems with a Gilson 233 XL® sampling injector. An HP ChemStation with dedicated software provides single-point control for sample analysis, fractionation and data management.

Variety of Detectors

Combining the performance of HP's analytical technologies with Gilson's multiple 96-well plate sampler offers a solution precisely tailored to fit demanding requirements and help reduce the time to market for new drugs. To round off the available process options, HP provides a versatile range of detectors, including a variable-wavelength detector, a diode array detector, and the new mass selective detector (HP 1100 Series LC/MSD).

Typical Configuration

A typical system for combinatorial chemical analysis includes

• HP 1100 Series quaternary pump; supports narrow-bore, standard, and semipreparative applications
• HP 1100 Series diode array detector; for highly sensitive and selective detection, simultaneous acquisition of multiple wavelengths and spectra over a wavelength range from 190 to 950 nm
• HP 1100 Series thermostatted column compartment
• HP 1100 Series vacuum degasser
• HP ChemStation with software for complete instrument control, data and spectral evaluation, reporting, and automation
• Gilson 233 XL sampling injector with 96-well plates for sampling and fraction collection capabilities.

Additional Modules

The user also has the choice of other modules in the HP 1100 Series:

• HP 1100 Series LC/MS detector provides molecular-weight and structural information that is complementary to the absorbency and UV spectral information
• HP 1100 Series variable-wavelength detector; high sensitivity, low baseline drift, and wide linear range; easy to use and maintain
• HP 1100 Series high-pressure gradient pump; highest accuracy at low flow rates
• HP 1100 Series autosampler; for injection from standard vials
• HP 1100 Series thermostatted autosampler; for thermally labile samples.

Each Peak Identified

The standard HP ChemStation has been augmented with dedicated software that runs within the Microsoft® Windows® NT and Windows 95 environments. It answers the special requirements of combinatorial chemistry analysis with the use of multiple 96-well plates for sampling and fraction collection and provides color-coded graphic sample tracking and data evaluation in a single screen. Each peak of a sample is labeled showing the correlation between the fraction position and the original sample. Sample selection is easy, too, offering the choice of either random sampling or selecting more specifically by row and column.

Software for Easy Control The software has two modes. In the sampler mode, specifically designed for high-throughput analysis, samples can be injected from each of the 96-well plates and analyzed. In the sampler/fraction collector mode, the sampler can take samples from each of the 96-well plates and collect fractions into other 96-well plates.

Typical ChemStation screen: color-coded graphics in the chromatogram correlate each peak with its fraction position.

The flexibility of the software lets the user import and export CSV text files -- sample data therefore does not have to be re-entered.

The HP 1100 Series combinatorial chemistry analysis system will initially be available only in selected geographical regions.

Gilson 233 XL is a trademark of Gilson, Middleton, WI
Microsoft and Windows are U.S. registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation