CA2246088C - Apparatus for synthesis of multiple organic compounds with pinch valve block - Google Patents

Apparatus for synthesis of multiple organic compounds with pinch valve block Download PDF

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Publication number
CA2246088C
CA2246088C CA002246088A CA2246088A CA2246088C CA 2246088 C CA2246088 C CA 2246088C CA 002246088 A CA002246088 A CA 002246088A CA 2246088 A CA2246088 A CA 2246088A CA 2246088 C CA2246088 C CA 2246088C
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Prior art keywords
reactor
outlet tubes
vessels
block
synthesis
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CA002246088A
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French (fr)
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CA2246088A1 (en
Inventor
Waldemar Ruediger
Wen-Jeng Li
John William Allen Jr.
Harold Norris Weller Iii
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Bristol Myers Squibb Co
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Bristol Myers Squibb Co
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    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01LCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL LABORATORY APPARATUS FOR GENERAL USE
    • B01L3/00Containers or dishes for laboratory use, e.g. laboratory glassware; Droppers
    • B01L3/50Containers for the purpose of retaining a material to be analysed, e.g. test tubes
    • B01L3/502Containers for the purpose of retaining a material to be analysed, e.g. test tubes with fluid transport, e.g. in multi-compartment structures
    • B01L3/5025Containers for the purpose of retaining a material to be analysed, e.g. test tubes with fluid transport, e.g. in multi-compartment structures for parallel transport of multiple samples
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01JCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS
    • B01J19/00Chemical, physical or physico-chemical processes in general; Their relevant apparatus
    • B01J19/0046Sequential or parallel reactions, e.g. for the synthesis of polypeptides or polynucleotides; Apparatus and devices for combinatorial chemistry or for making molecular arrays
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01JCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS
    • B01J4/00Feed or outlet devices; Feed or outlet control devices
    • B01J4/008Feed or outlet control devices
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01JCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS
    • B01J2219/00Chemical, physical or physico-chemical processes in general; Their relevant apparatus
    • B01J2219/00274Sequential or parallel reactions; Apparatus and devices for combinatorial chemistry or for making arrays; Chemical library technology
    • B01J2219/00277Apparatus
    • B01J2219/00279Features relating to reactor vessels
    • B01J2219/00281Individual reactor vessels
    • B01J2219/00286Reactor vessels with top and bottom openings
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01JCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS
    • B01J2219/00Chemical, physical or physico-chemical processes in general; Their relevant apparatus
    • B01J2219/00274Sequential or parallel reactions; Apparatus and devices for combinatorial chemistry or for making arrays; Chemical library technology
    • B01J2219/00277Apparatus
    • B01J2219/00279Features relating to reactor vessels
    • B01J2219/00281Individual reactor vessels
    • B01J2219/00295Individual reactor vessels the reactor vessels having pervious side walls
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01JCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS
    • B01J2219/00Chemical, physical or physico-chemical processes in general; Their relevant apparatus
    • B01J2219/00274Sequential or parallel reactions; Apparatus and devices for combinatorial chemistry or for making arrays; Chemical library technology
    • B01J2219/00277Apparatus
    • B01J2219/00279Features relating to reactor vessels
    • B01J2219/00306Reactor vessels in a multiple arrangement
    • B01J2219/00308Reactor vessels in a multiple arrangement interchangeably mounted in racks or blocks
    • B01J2219/0031Reactor vessels in a multiple arrangement interchangeably mounted in racks or blocks the racks or blocks being mounted in stacked arrangements
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01JCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS
    • B01J2219/00Chemical, physical or physico-chemical processes in general; Their relevant apparatus
    • B01J2219/00274Sequential or parallel reactions; Apparatus and devices for combinatorial chemistry or for making arrays; Chemical library technology
    • B01J2219/00277Apparatus
    • B01J2219/00279Features relating to reactor vessels
    • B01J2219/00306Reactor vessels in a multiple arrangement
    • B01J2219/00313Reactor vessels in a multiple arrangement the reactor vessels being formed by arrays of wells in blocks
    • B01J2219/00315Microtiter plates
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01JCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS
    • B01J2219/00Chemical, physical or physico-chemical processes in general; Their relevant apparatus
    • B01J2219/00274Sequential or parallel reactions; Apparatus and devices for combinatorial chemistry or for making arrays; Chemical library technology
    • B01J2219/00277Apparatus
    • B01J2219/00279Features relating to reactor vessels
    • B01J2219/00331Details of the reactor vessels
    • B01J2219/00333Closures attached to the reactor vessels
    • B01J2219/00335Septa
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01JCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS
    • B01J2219/00Chemical, physical or physico-chemical processes in general; Their relevant apparatus
    • B01J2219/00274Sequential or parallel reactions; Apparatus and devices for combinatorial chemistry or for making arrays; Chemical library technology
    • B01J2219/00277Apparatus
    • B01J2219/00351Means for dispensing and evacuation of reagents
    • B01J2219/00389Feeding through valves
    • B01J2219/004Pinch valves
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01JCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS
    • B01J2219/00Chemical, physical or physico-chemical processes in general; Their relevant apparatus
    • B01J2219/00274Sequential or parallel reactions; Apparatus and devices for combinatorial chemistry or for making arrays; Chemical library technology
    • B01J2219/00277Apparatus
    • B01J2219/00351Means for dispensing and evacuation of reagents
    • B01J2219/00389Feeding through valves
    • B01J2219/004Pinch valves
    • B01J2219/00403Pinch valves in multiple arrangements
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01JCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS
    • B01J2219/00Chemical, physical or physico-chemical processes in general; Their relevant apparatus
    • B01J2219/00274Sequential or parallel reactions; Apparatus and devices for combinatorial chemistry or for making arrays; Chemical library technology
    • B01J2219/00277Apparatus
    • B01J2219/00495Means for heating or cooling the reaction vessels
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01JCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS
    • B01J2219/00Chemical, physical or physico-chemical processes in general; Their relevant apparatus
    • B01J2219/00274Sequential or parallel reactions; Apparatus and devices for combinatorial chemistry or for making arrays; Chemical library technology
    • B01J2219/00277Apparatus
    • B01J2219/00497Features relating to the solid phase supports
    • B01J2219/005Beads
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01JCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS
    • B01J2219/00Chemical, physical or physico-chemical processes in general; Their relevant apparatus
    • B01J2219/00274Sequential or parallel reactions; Apparatus and devices for combinatorial chemistry or for making arrays; Chemical library technology
    • B01J2219/00277Apparatus
    • B01J2219/0054Means for coding or tagging the apparatus or the reagents
    • B01J2219/00565Electromagnetic means
    • B01J2219/00567Transponder chips
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01JCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS
    • B01J2219/00Chemical, physical or physico-chemical processes in general; Their relevant apparatus
    • B01J2219/00274Sequential or parallel reactions; Apparatus and devices for combinatorial chemistry or for making arrays; Chemical library technology
    • B01J2219/00583Features relative to the processes being carried out
    • B01J2219/00585Parallel processes
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01JCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS
    • B01J2219/00Chemical, physical or physico-chemical processes in general; Their relevant apparatus
    • B01J2219/00274Sequential or parallel reactions; Apparatus and devices for combinatorial chemistry or for making arrays; Chemical library technology
    • B01J2219/00583Features relative to the processes being carried out
    • B01J2219/0059Sequential processes
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01JCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS
    • B01J2219/00Chemical, physical or physico-chemical processes in general; Their relevant apparatus
    • B01J2219/00274Sequential or parallel reactions; Apparatus and devices for combinatorial chemistry or for making arrays; Chemical library technology
    • B01J2219/00583Features relative to the processes being carried out
    • B01J2219/00596Solid-phase processes
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01JCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS
    • B01J2219/00Chemical, physical or physico-chemical processes in general; Their relevant apparatus
    • B01J2219/00274Sequential or parallel reactions; Apparatus and devices for combinatorial chemistry or for making arrays; Chemical library technology
    • B01J2219/00718Type of compounds synthesised
    • B01J2219/0072Organic compounds
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01LCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL LABORATORY APPARATUS FOR GENERAL USE
    • B01L2300/00Additional constructional details
    • B01L2300/02Identification, exchange or storage of information
    • B01L2300/021Identification, e.g. bar codes
    • B01L2300/022Transponder chips
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01LCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL LABORATORY APPARATUS FOR GENERAL USE
    • B01L2300/00Additional constructional details
    • B01L2300/08Geometry, shape and general structure
    • B01L2300/0809Geometry, shape and general structure rectangular shaped
    • B01L2300/0829Multi-well plates; Microtitration plates
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01LCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL LABORATORY APPARATUS FOR GENERAL USE
    • B01L2300/00Additional constructional details
    • B01L2300/18Means for temperature control
    • B01L2300/1838Means for temperature control using fluid heat transfer medium
    • B01L2300/185Means for temperature control using fluid heat transfer medium using a liquid as fluid
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01LCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL LABORATORY APPARATUS FOR GENERAL USE
    • B01L2400/00Moving or stopping fluids
    • B01L2400/04Moving fluids with specific forces or mechanical means
    • B01L2400/0475Moving fluids with specific forces or mechanical means specific mechanical means and fluid pressure
    • B01L2400/0487Moving fluids with specific forces or mechanical means specific mechanical means and fluid pressure fluid pressure, pneumatics
    • B01L2400/049Moving fluids with specific forces or mechanical means specific mechanical means and fluid pressure fluid pressure, pneumatics vacuum
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01LCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL LABORATORY APPARATUS FOR GENERAL USE
    • B01L2400/00Moving or stopping fluids
    • B01L2400/06Valves, specific forms thereof
    • B01L2400/0633Valves, specific forms thereof with moving parts
    • B01L2400/0655Valves, specific forms thereof with moving parts pinch valves
    • CCHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C40COMBINATORIAL TECHNOLOGY
    • C40BCOMBINATORIAL CHEMISTRY; LIBRARIES, e.g. CHEMICAL LIBRARIES
    • C40B60/00Apparatus specially adapted for use in combinatorial chemistry or with libraries
    • C40B60/14Apparatus specially adapted for use in combinatorial chemistry or with libraries for creating libraries
    • CCHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C40COMBINATORIAL TECHNOLOGY
    • C40BCOMBINATORIAL CHEMISTRY; LIBRARIES, e.g. CHEMICAL LIBRARIES
    • C40B70/00Tags or labels specially adapted for combinatorial chemistry or libraries, e.g. fluorescent tags or bar codes

Abstract

The simultaneous synthesis of diverse organic compounds is performed in stackable modules which are moveable among nesting sites located on work station platforms. The reactor module includes a block adapted to receive an array of tube-like reactor vessels. The vessels are sized to optionally accept porus polyethelyene mircocannisters with radio frequency transmitter tags. Each vessel has a bottom port connected to an outlet tube.
A valve block located below the reactor vessels simultaneously controls discharge through the outlet tubes. The valve block includes plates with aligned, relatively moveable sets of rib surfaces which act through Teflon encapsulated silicone O-ring cord sections to simultaneously close rows of outlet tubes. By first utilizing reactor vessels in one set of 48 positions, out of the possible 52 reactor vessel positions in the reactor block, and then utilizing reactor vessels in the other set of 48 positions and shifting the relative position of the collection plate, a single reactor can be employed to discharge into all of the wells of a standard 96 well microtiter collection plate. The apparatus can be used to perform the entire synthesis or only the final cleavage step of a radio frequency tagged synthesis.

Description

WA~DE~UR RUEDIGER BMS-29 WEN - JENG L I
JOHN W. ALLEN, JR.
~AROLD N. WELLER, III

AP~ARAT~JS E'OR
SYNTXESIS OF M~JLTIPLE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
WITH PINCH VALVE BLOC}C
The present invention relates to apparatus for combina-torial drug research to be used in the simultaneous parallel Eolid and solution phase 6ynthesis of large numbers of diverse organic compounds or for the final cleavage step of radio frequency tagged synthesis and more particularly to a modular apparatus designed for such purposes which employs a unique pinch valve block, which includes reactor vessels capable of receiving porus polyethelyene microcannisters with radio frequency transmitter tags and which can be used to discharge into all of the well6 of a standard microtiter plate.

Efficient testing of organic compounds in the modern pharmaceutical laboratory requires the synthesis of large numbers of diverse organic molecules in an automated and high speed manner.
The apparatus of the present invention i6 designed for use in such a system, particularly one which employs solid phase synthesis techniques. It i6 u6eful in performing the entire synthesis or for performing only the final cleavage 6tep of radio frequency tagged 6ynthesis.

C:\-IP5~ROI~ERT~DOCS~BMS~U~5-29.~5 2 ; CA 02246088 1998-08-28 During the cour6e of the 6ynthesis, various operations must be performed on the sample6, including reagent introduction and removal, agitation, washing, and compound removal by cleavage from a resin support. Precise control of temperature, pressure and atmospheric gas mixtures may be required at various 6tages. These operations are standard and can be performed at task specific work stations which have been designed or modified for use with one or more reactors.

Over the last few years, a number of different 6ystems have been developed to produce libraries of large numbers of speci-fic types of organic molecules, such as polynucleotides. However, the usefullness of 6uch systems tends to be limited to the particu-lar type of molecule the system was designed to produce. Our invention is much more general in application. It can be used to synthesize all types of organic compounds including those used in pharmaceutical research, the study of DNA, protein chemistry, immunology, pharmacology or biotechnology.

A(side from the lack of versatility, existing equipment for automated organic synthesis tends to be large and heavy, as well as very expensive to fabricate and operate. Known automated systems also tend to be quite complex, requiring equipment which is limited as to flexibility, speed, and the number and amount of com-pounds which can as be synthesized. As will become apparent, our ~ystem has a simple, elegant design. It is relatively inexpensive C \1175~.\R01~ERS\DO~i~ 29.. ~BS 3 to fabricate and operate. However, it i6 extremely flexible and is capable of producing large number6 and amount6 of all types of organic compounds in a high 6peed, automated manner. It i6 6maller in 6ize than comparable equipment, permitting more reactors to be used at one time at a work 6tation and it is lighter, thereby facilitating movement of the apparatus between work station6 with less effort.

One system of which we are aware was developed for use at Zeneca Phar~aceuticals, Alderley Park, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK10 4TG, United Kingdom. That sy6tem i6 built around an XP Zymate laboratory robot (Zymark Corporation, Hopkinton, MA). The robot arm is situated in the middle of a plurality of stationary work stations arranged in a circle. The arm is programmed to move one or more tube racks from one station to another. However, the Zeneca system has a 6mall throughput capability, as the number of tube racks which can be handled at one time is limited.

An automated peptide 6ynthesizer developed for Chiron Corporation of Emeryville, CA., which has similar limitations, is described by Ronald N. Zukermann, Janice M. Kerr, Michael A. Siani and Steven C. ~anville in an article which appeared in the Interna-tional Journal of Peptide and Protein Research, Vol. 40, 1992, pages 497-506 entitled "Design, Construction and Application of a Fully Automated Equimolar Peptide Mixture Synthesizer~. See also U.S. Patent No. 5,240,680 issued August 31, 1993 to Zuckermann and C:\~li'Sl\~Oli~T\DO~S\B~S\EI~15-29.~5 4 Banville and U.S. Patent No. 5,252,296 is6ued October 12, 1993 to Zukermann et al. entitled "Method and Apparatus For Biopolymer Synthes i6n.

Another approach was developed at Takeda Chemical Indus-tries, Ltd. and i6 described in an article published in the Journal of Automatic Chemistry, Vol. 11, No. 5 (Sept.-Oct. 1989) pp. 212-220 by Nobuyoshi Hayashi, Tobru Sugawara, Mo~oaki Shintani and Shinji Kato entitled "Computer-assisted Automatic Synthesis II.
Development of a Fully Automated Apparatus for Preparing Substi-tuted N- (carboxyalkyl~ Aminio Acids". The Takeda system includes a plurality of stationary units which are computer controlled. The reactor unit includes only two reaction flasks. A plurality of computer controlled solenoid valves regulate the input flow from the reactant supply unit and wash solvent supply unit as well as output to the purification unit, exhaust and drainage unit. Sen-sors and electrodes feed information back to the computer. That system is complex, costly and inflexible. It i6 also very limited with respect to the number of compounds which can be synthesized.

A more flexible approach has been 6uggested by the Parke-Davis Pharmaceutical Research Division of Warner-Lambert, as des-cribed by Sheila Hobbs DeWitt et al. in Proc. National Academy of Science, USA, Vol. 90, pp. 6909-6913 August 1993 and in the ISLAR
'93 Proceedings. That system employs a Tecan robotic sample pro-cessor. A manifold of gas dispersion tubes are employed in combi-C:\WPS~ilO~ERT\DOCS\SMS\BMS-29.Al~S 5 nation with gla6s vial6. The gla66 frit~ of the tube6 contain the 601id 6upport during reaction6. However, like many prior art 6y6tems, in thi6 apparatus, 6ample6 from the reaction tubes must be removed from above, u6ing a modified needle as a probe. There is no facility for removal from the bottoms of the tubes. Accord-ingly, obtaining product from the reactor vessel6 in the Parke-Davis system is awkward and time consuming.

U.S. Patent No. 5,472,672 issued December 5, 1995 to Thomas Brennan, entitled "Apparatus and Method for Polymer Synthe-5iS Using Arrays", teachès the use of an automated system in which a transport mechanism is used to move a base having an array of reactor wells ln conveyor belt fashion from work station to work 6tation. Sample removal is performed by creating a pressure dif-ferential ~etween the ends of the wells. Aside from the difficul-ties with regard to discharge, thi6 system is complex and lacks flexibility.

We are also aware of system designed by the Ontogen Corporation of Carlsbad, CA 92009 as disclosed by John Cargill and Romaine Maiefski in Laboratory Robotics and Automation, Vol. 6 pp.
139-147 in an article entitled "Automated Combinatorial Chemistry on Solid Phase~ and di6closed in U.S. Patent No. 5,609,826 entitled "Methods and Apparatus for the Generation of Chemical Libraries"
issued March 11, 1997 to John Cargill and Romaine Maiefski. The system disclo6ed in the article and patent utilizes a reactor block C:\W~'SL\R08ER~ OC5\8MS\8MS-29.A~S 6 having an array of reactor ves~el6. The block i6 moved along an as6embly line of work 6tation6 under computer control.

The Ontogen apparatu6 disclo6ed in the above mentioned article and patent has a number of 6hortcomings. It is highly complex and expen6ive. It does not include any valving 6tructure capable of regulating the fluid discharge from the reactor chambers. Instead, it depends upon pressure differential to cause discharge through s-shaped trap tubes which snap into a fitting on the bottom of each reaction vessel. This takes up a lot of room, preventing the dense packing of the reactor vessels. It also makes product removal awkward.

Because the reactor vessel6 disclosed in the article and patent cannot be densely packed, mirror image reactors are required in the Ontogen sy6tem to di6charge into all of the densely packed wells of a standard microtiter plate. As described in U.S. Patent No. 5,609,826, two different reactor configurations, each capable of receiving a set of 48 reaction vessels, are required to deposit directly into all 96 of the microtiter wells.

Reactor vessels of the type commonly ûsed in the art are not adapted to receive commercially available porus polyethelene microcannisters. As is disclosed in the literature noted below, 6uch microcannister6 can be radio frequency transmitter tagged for automated tracking. Hence, it would be very advantageous to have C:\~/P51\RO~ERr\DOCS\8MS\i~MS-29 AaS 7 a reactor which could depoeit into all the microtiter wells and still utilize reactor ves6el6 capable of receiving commercially available microcannister6.

International Publication Number W0 97/10896 under the Patent Cooperation Treaty published on March 27, 1997 teaches apparatus for simultaneous solid phase chemical synthesis developed by Berlex Laboratories, Inc. of Richmond, California. The Berlex equipment utilizes a manifold valve block including a plurality of aligned valve inserts which are controlled by valve stems. The stems are rotated by hydraulic cylinders positioned on either side of the manifold. The Berlex apparatus accomodates 96 reactor vessels at one time in a densely packed array. ~owever, the reactor vessels cannot receive porous microcannisters with radio frequency tags. Moreover, this reactor requires a specially designed solvent delivery system.

Personnel at Bristol-Myers Squibb Company of Princeton, New Jersey 08543 developed an earlier version of the present apparatus designed for use in the simultaneous synthesis of diverse organic compounds. Like the present invention, it consisted of stackable modules which are moveable among nesting sites located on work station platforms. The reactor module in that version in-cludes a heat transfer block adapted to receive an array of reactor vessels. The reactor vessels are in the form of solid phase ex-traction cartridges without sorbent. Each has a ~ottom outlet C:\~PS~.\RO~QS\DOCS~MS~l~MS-2~ ~S 8 port. A plurality of 6eparate valves arranged in rows are located below the ves6el6. The valves consist of 6topcock6 which are gang-controlled to regulate the discharge from the reactor ves6el outlet port6 into aligned channel6, each formed by a pair of threated Leur tip adapter6. The reactor module i6 situated over a discharge module. The inlet openings in the discharge module are adapted to accept the threaded ends of the Leur tip adapters. Lhe di~charge module consists of a multi-well collector block or a drain block.
A solvent introduction module, which includes a pressure plate hav-ing an array of openings and a septum, i6 received over the reactor module. The downwardly projecting rim defining each pressure plate opening co~perates with the septum to engaged the ~outh of the aligned reactor vessel to maintain a fluid tight seal.

Although that apparatus was a vast improvement over the prior art systems, it still had 60me disadvantages. For example, the apparatus was still relatively large and has connectors and levers extending outwardly from the sides, allowing only two reactors to fit under a 6tandard fume hood at one time. Each reactor weighed about 18 pounds and was costly to fabricate. Thus, improvement in the areas of size, weight and c06t are possible. A
more elegant valve 6yste~, with fewer moving parts, is also desire-able. Provision for receiving commercially available porous micro-cannisters with radio frequency transmitter tags for automated encoding in the reactor vessels would be extremely advantagous.
Moreover, a structure which could accommodate 6tandard microtiter PS~.\ROfiERT\DOC5\B'15\BH5-29.~B5 9 plates or blocks for specimen collection would be an important advance. Improvement6 in these areas are embodied in the present invention.

Our approach to the automation problem in this invention is to employ modules of simplified design and construction which can be readily arranged in sets to perform the required operations and which are light in weight 60 as to be easily moveable among nest sites at standard work stations. This permits the greatest amount of flexibility at the least cost. Due to more compact design, more reactors can be assembled and employed at one time by creating multiple nest sites at a single work station, ~uch as an orbital shaker. For time consuming operations, 6everal work stations can be in use 6imultaneously, to permit parallel flow of reactors and therefore eliminate bottlenecks. For less time con-suming operations, fewer work stations can be used, as long as the flow of reactors is not impeded. Because the reactors are lighter in weight, they are easier to transport. Accordingly, maximum throughput is acheived with minimum investment.

In addition, the apparatus of the present invention is designed to permit sample removal from the bottom of the reactor vessels as in the earlier version of the Bristol-Myers Squibb equipment. However, unlike the earlier equipment system, the present invention employes simplified valving in the form of a unique pinch valve block located beneath the reactor block. The c \~sl\FoaE~ S~aMs~aMs-29.~s 10 valve block includes plates with set~ of aligned, relatively move-able ribs. Each rib Bet i6 aligned with the outlet tubes a6so-ciated with a different row of reactor ve66els. Movement of the rib surfaces causes force to be applied to the outlet tubes through Telfon encapsulated 6ilicone 0-ring cord 6ections 6ituated between one rib surface and the adjacent outlet tubes, 6uch that the tubes are simultaneou61y closed (pinched) without cru6hing or damaging the tube walls. As a result, the tube walls will reliably resume their original open condition each time the force is released.

The apparatus of the present invention includes a reactor block, located above the valve block, which accepts an array of reactor vessels. The vessels may be any plastic or glass tube with a bottom port, such as a standard 601id phase extraction cartidge without sorbent. However, the reactor vessels are preferrably designed to receive porus polyethelene microcannisters provided with radio frequency transmitter tags for automated tracking. The apparatus can be used for the entire synthesis or only the final cleavage step in radio frequency tagged synthesis, as desired.

The reactor module is adapted to mount over a discharge module. The discharge module may consist of a collection block with an array of wells for collection tubes or vessels. Prefer-rably, it takes the form of a 96 well microtiter block of 6tandard size and dimension. If the reactor vessels are large enough to accept commercially available porus microcanni6ters, they may be C:\wp5l\Ro~ T\Docs\ElMs\BMs-29.AEls 11 too large to permit them to be packed tightly enough to di6charge into all of the 96 well6 of a etandard microtiter block at once.
A funnelling device could be interposed between the valve block and the microtiter plate to direct the di6charge from the reactor ve66els into the wells of the plate. However, such a device is bulky and expensive to fabricate. Alternatively, as in the Ontogen 6ystem mentioned above and disclosed in U.S. Patent NO. S,609,826, mirror image reactors (referred to as type "A" and type "B") could employed, each capable of holding 48 reactor vessels and discharg-ing into a different set of 48 well6 in the 96 well microtiter plate.

Our system overcomes the costs and problems of requiring an interposed funnelling device or having two reactor configura-tions by employing a single reactor block with 52 possible reactor vessel positions, instead of the conventional 48. Either one of two different 6ets (referred to as "odd" or "even") of 48 positions out of the possible 52 positions can be selected for use. By shifting the position of the reactor block relative to the micro-titer plate, discharge into either the odd or even well set in the microtiter plate can be achieved.

Internal vertical 6upport6 are employed to facilitate alignment of the blocks as the reactor module set6 are formed. The supports each have a plurality of different levels. Different blocks are designed to rest on different levels. In this way, dif-O:\~S~ ROI~IT\DO~\lIMS\BMS-29.A~S 12 ferent reactor configuration6 are easily formed. For example, reactors with or without temperature control blocks can be as6embl-ed. Simple nesting bracket6 with chamfered surfaces make in6talla-tion of the reactor6 on the work 6tation6 a quick and easy tas~.

Since the modifications to standard work station6 to accept the reactor6 of the present invention are 6imple and in-expensive to make, little time or cost is involved in converting a conventional laboratory for use with the system of present inven-tion. This dramatically increases the speed of the set up of a facility to perform the 6ynthe6is process, as customized work stations, specialized computers and complex interfaces are not required.

It is, therefore, a prime object of the present invention to provide apparatus for the synthesis of multiple organic com-pounds which i6 mechanically simple, small in size, light in weight, relatively inexpensive to construct, does not require ex-tensive set up time, is extremely flexible and has high throughput.

It is another object of the present invention to provide apparatus for the synthesis of multiple organic compounds which consi6ts of a plurality of ~tackable modules adapted to be moved as a unit among nest 6ites on work ~tation platforms.

C~ 51~0~:ilT\DOC5\1~M5\SM5-29.AB5 13 It is another object of the pre6ent invention to provide apparatus for the synthesis of multiple organic compound6 which can be used for performing the entire synthesis or only the final cleavage step of radio frequency tagged synthesis.

It is another object of the present invention to provide apparatus for the synthesis of multiple organic compounds which includes a multiple valve block in which sets of aligned ribs of relatively moveable plates act through Teflon encapsulated silicone O-ring cord sections to close rows of outlet tubes to regulate the discharge from the reactor vessel ports.

It is another object of the present invention to provide apparatus for the synthesis of multiple organic compounds which is compatable for use with a standard 96 well microtiter collection plate where a single configuration reactor block with 52 reactor vessel positions can be employed to discharge into either the even or the "odd" 48 well sets of the plate by shifting the relative position of the microtiter plate.

It is another object of the present invention to provide apparatus for the synthesis of multiple organic compounds which utilizes reactor vessels adapted to receive porus microcannisters with radio frequency transmitter tags.

C~ P51\R08ER~\DO~i\~M5\BM5-29.. ~85 14 In accordance with one a6pect of the present invention, apparatus useful for the synthe6i6 of multiple organic compounds is provided: The apparatus i8 adapted to receive an array of indivi-dual reactor ve6~els. Each vessel has a port connected to an out-let tube. Valve means simultaneously regulate the discharge from the vessels through the outlet tubes. The valve means incl~des first and second relatively moveable surfaces between which the outlet tubes extend. Resilient means are interposed between one of the surfaces and the outlet tubes. Relative movement of the sur-faces causes force to be applied through the resilient means to close the outlet tubes.

The valve surfaces are the surfaces of ribs located on relatively moveable plates. The resilient means preferrably takes the form of Teflon encapsulated silicone O-ring cord, cut in sections and situated adjacent one of the rib surfaces. The rib surface adjacent the cord is shaped to correspond to the shape of the cord. More specifically, it has an arcuate shape which serves to maintain the cord section in proper position. The ends of one of the plates have openings through which the resilient means can be inserted so as to be received between the ribs.

The valve means is located below the reactor vessels.
Below the valve means is situated the collection block. The collection block has an array of weils. A plurality of collection vessels are adapted to be received in the wells.

C~ S~\ROBERT\DOCS\BMS\BMS-29.AB5 15 The collection block i6 capable of receiving 2X number of collection vessel6. The apparatus i5 adapted to receive X number of reactor ves6els in Y number of pos~ible positions, where Y i6 a number larger than X. The collection block can be received in one of two positions relative to the reactor block.

The reactor vessels may receive porus polyethylene micro-cannisters with radio frequency transmitter tags. Multi-level com-ponent internal support and alignment means are provided.

In accordance with another object of the present inven-tion, valve means are provided for the simultaneous regulation of the discharge through outlet tubes connected to the ports of reactor vessels received in an apparatus for the synthesis of multiple organic compounds. The valve means includes first and second aligned, relatively moveable surfaces between which the outlet tubes extend. Resilient means are interposed between one of the surfaces and the outlet tubes. Relative movement of the surfaces causes force to be applied through the resilient means to close the outlet tubes.

The surfaces form portions of plates, and more particu-larly ribs on plates. The resilient means preferrably comprise Teflon encapsulated silicone O-ring cord sections. One of the rib surfaces is shaped to correspond to the arcuate shape of the outer surface of the cord.

C: \~PSl\R09ERT\DOl~\laMS\9MS-19 .A9S 16 In accordance with another aspect of the pre6ent inven-tion, apparatu~ useful for the 6ynthesis of multiple organic com-pounds is provided. The apparatus includes means adapted to receive an array of X number of individual reactor vessel6, in at least Y nurnber of different position6, where Y i6 a number greater than X. Each of the vessel6 has a port connected to an outlet tube. Collection means are provided with an array of 2X number of collection vessel6. Means are provided for shifting the position of the collection means relative to the vessel receiving means. By first selecting one and then the other set of X number of reactor vessels of the possible Y number of positions for use, and shifting the position of the collection means between uses, each of the 2X
number of collection vessels can receive discharge from the outlet tubes.

The collection means preferrably comprises a standard 96 well microtiter plate. The number X e~uals 48. The number Y
equals 52. Each of the vessels is adapted to optionally receive a porus polyethlyene microcannister with a radio freouency trans-mitter tag.

Valve means are interposed between the reactor vessels and the collection means for simultaneously regulating the dis-charge through the outlet tubes.

C\~51\~0~\KX~\~5\~5-29~5 17 In accordance with another aspect of the present inven-tion, apparatus useful to the 6ynthesi6 of multiple organic com-pounds is provided. The apparatu6 includes means for receiving an array of tube-like reactor ve6sels, a plurality of reactor vessels and optionally a porous polyethelyene microcannister with a radio frequency transmitter tag for each vessel. Each of the vessels i6 adapted to receive a porus polyethelyene microcannister with a radio frequency transmitter tag.

The ves6el receiving means is capable of receiving X
number of reactor vessels in Y number of wells, where Y is a number is greater than X. The apparatus also includes collection means havin~ 2X number of collection wells. Each of the reactor vessels has a port connected to an outlet tube. Valve means are provided for simultaneously regulating the di6charge of fluids through the outlet tubes into the collection wells.

The valve means includes first and second aligned, rela-tively moveable surfaces between which the outlet tubes extend.
Resilient means are interposed between one of the surfaces and the outlet tubes. Relative movement of the surfaces causes force to be applied through the resilient means to close the outlet tubes.

Preferrably, one of the 6urfaces has an arcuate shape corresponding to the 6hape of the exterior of the resilient means.

This maintains the resilient means in proper position.

C: \Wi~Sl\RCE~T\DOCS\~IMS\BMS~29 .AIIS 18 In accordance with another aspect of the present inven-tion, aparatu~ useful for the 6ynthesi6 of multiple organic com-pounds is provided, including a plurality of functional components stackable in different configurations to form the apparatus. Mul-tilevel means cooperate with the components to align them. The alignment means is adapted to be mounted on one of the components.
It has a first level adapted to support a second component and a second level adapted to support a third component. The levels are defined by different sections of the alignment means.

The components include a valve block. The alignment means is mounted on the valve block.

The second component may include a temperature control block. A pressure plate is used in conjunction with the tempera-ture control block.

The third component may including an alignment plate.
The pressure plate is situated above the alignment plate.

The alignment means also includes a bullet nose shaped section on the top level. This section facilitates assembly of the blocks.

The alignment means comprises a standoff. Preferrably, the alignment means includes four standoffs.

C:\~75~ 0aEllT\DO~S\l~MS\ar~15-29.~S 19 ~ o these and other objects as may hereinafter appear, the present invention relates to apparatus for the 6ynthesi6 of mul-tiple organic compounds with a pinch valve block, as set forth in detail in the following 6pecification and recited in the annexed claims, taken together with the accompanying drawings, wherein like numerals refer to like parts and in which:

Fig. 1 is an isometric view of a first configuration of the appartus of the present invention including a temperature con-trol block and showing the collection block in exploded position;

Fig. 2 is an isometric view of a second configuration of the apparatus of the present invention without the temperature control block and with the collection block in exploded position;

Fig. 3 i~ an exploded isometric view of the reactor block and valve block of the apparatus of the present invention;

Fig. 4 is an exploded isometric view of the components of the valve block;

Fig. S is a top cross-sectional view of the valve block, 6hown in the open 6tate;

C:\~Sl\R~eE~T\~X~\~S\~S-29.~S 20 Fig. 6 i6 an enlarged 6ide cro66-sectional view of the valve block taken along line 6-6 of Fig. 5 6howing the reactor block with the temperature control block;

Fig. 7 i6 a top cross-6ectional view of the valve block, 6hown in the closed 6tate;

Fig. 8 i8 an enlarged cros6-6ectional view taken along line 8-8 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is an enlarged exploded 6ide cross-sectional view of a portion of the plates and 61ide of the valve block;

Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 6 showing an enlarged 6ide cross-sectional view of the valve block showing the reactor block without the temperature control block;

Fig. 11 is a schematic representation of a first set the selected reactor vessel wells and the set of collection wells with which they align;

Fig. 12 is a schematic representation of the second set of the selected reactor vessel wells and the other set of collec-tion wells with which they align;

C:\~;'51\RC9~1~'r\DOCS\9J~15\11MS-~9.A95 21 ~ ig. 13 iB a side cross-6ectional view of the collection plate and vacuum adapter in the first relative position; and Fig. 14 iS a view similar to Fig. 13, showing the collec-tion plate and vacuum adapter in the second relative position.

The apparatus of the present invention relates to a modu-lar system for the synthesis of diverse organic compo~nds in which components in the form of blocks and/or plates are stacked to form reactors which can be moved among work stations to perform various ~teps in the synthesis. A typical reactor consists of a reactor block, generally designated A, which is adapted to retain a plura-lity of tube-like reactor vessels 10. Block A may include an optional temperature control block, generally designated B, as shown in Figure 1. Reactor Block A is situated a~ove a valve block, generally designated C, which controls the discharge from reactor vessels 10 into the collection vessels situated in the wells 12 of a microtiter plate which forms a portion of a collec-tion block, generally designated D.

Reactor block A includes a pressure plate 14 with a sep-tum 16 situated adjacent its undersurface. Pressure plate 14 has an array of relatively small openings 17, one for each vessel 10.
Openings 17 permit the needle of a syringe to be inserted into the aligned reactor vessel, through the septum, to introduce liquids into the vessel. When the temperature control block B i5 absent, C:\~751\RO~\KX~\~5\~5-29 ~5 22 as shown in Fig. 2, an alignment plate 18 is 6ituated below 6eptum 16. Alignment plate 18 ha6 an array of opening6 19 each of which receive6 a reactor ves6el 10 60 as to retain the vessel6 in the correct po6ition relative to the pres6ure plate. Pres~ure plate 14 is spaced from valve block C 60 a6 to permit a plurality of reactor vessel6 10 to the situated therebetween.

Four multi-level alignment 6tandoffs 20 are provided to retain the component6 in proper alignment. Standoffs 20 are mount-ed on valve block C, at each corner of the apparatus. Each stand-off 20 has a lower, larger diameter section 22, an intermediate, mid-sized diameter section 24 and a top, bullet shaped section 26.
Temperature control block B, when used (Fig. 1), rests on lower 6ection 22.

When block B i6 not used (Fig. 2), alignment plate 18 rests on the intermediate 6ections 24 of the standoffs. Alignment plate 18 is provided with four holes 28 (~ig. 3). Holes 28 receive the top portions 26 of 6tandoffs 20. Thus, plate 18 is spaced from the top surface of the valve block C by the combined height of 6ections 22 and 24.

Pressure plate 14 also has four holes 30, ~omewhat 6maller than holes 28, which receive bullet shaped 6ections 26 of 6tandoffs 20. The pressure plate sits over the 6eptum and hence is spaced above t~e top surfaces of 6ections 24 of the standoffs. It C: \WPSl\ROl~Eill\l~OCS\llMS\l~MS-29 .ASS 23 rest6 on the rims of the reactor ve66els 10, with the septum 16 ~ituated there between (Fig. 10). Clamp bracket6 37, located at either end of the unit, retain pre66ure plate 14. The bullet 6hape of 6ections 26 of 6tandoff6 20 facilitate positioning of the plates.

A pair of side latches 32 are mounted on latch pivot blocks 34 located on each side of the top 6urface of valve block C.
Each latch has first and 6econd 610t6 36, 38 adapted to engage screws extending from temperature control block B or alignment plate 18. As shown in Fig. 1, when temperature control block B is present, slots 38 on each latch 32 receive the screws extending from the sides of the temperature control block to latch tempera-ture control block B in position, when the latches are pivoted to the upstanding position. When no temperature control block B is present, as in Fig. 2, screw6 from the alignment plate 18 are received in slots 36.

If control of the temperature of the reactor vessels is required, block B is interposed between pressure plate 14 and the valve block C as 6hown in Fig. 1. Alignment plate 18 is not used in this configuration. The temperature control block is of con-ventional design, with an array of vertical reactor vessel receiv-ing wells and internal conduits through which water or other fluid can be pumped to regulate the temperature of the reactor vessels.

C:\-lPSl\ROl~E~r\DOCS\B~S\D~S-29.AaS 24 Valve block C i~ illu6trated in exploded form in Figs. 4 and 9. This block con6i6t6 of a top plate 39, a bottom plate 40 and an end cap 42 which, when a6sembled, define a rectangular cavity into which a 61ide 44 i6 moveably received.

Top plate 39 is provided with openings 46 for screws to 6ecure it to bottom plate 40. It also has openings 48 for screws to secure bracket6 37 and openings 50 for screws to ~ecure latch pivot blocks 34.

Further, plate 39 has an array of small holes 52 adapted to receive the outlet tubes 54 which are attached by Leur tip adapters 56 to the bottom outlet ports of the reactor vessels 10.
Outlet tubes of this type are commercially available from Supelco, Inc., Supelco Park, Belleforte, PA 10823 as part No. S-7059 disposable flow control valve liners. One hole 52 in plate 39 is provided for each reactor vessel position in reactor bloc~ A.

Bottom plate 40 has corresponding holes 58 for receiving the tubes 54. Holes S8 are of the 6ame number and in the same locations as holes 52 in plate 39. As best seen in Fig. 4, plate 40 has a "~" shaped configuration, when viewed from the end. The upper 6urface of the middle recessed portion 60 of the plate has eight spaced upstanding ribs 62. Each rib 62 is situated adjacent a different row of holes 58 and, as best 6een in Fig. 9, actually extends a ~mall way over the rim of the hole.

C: \~PS~\RGalEi~'r\D~S\B1~5\aMS-29 .Aa5 25 Slide 44 also has an array of holes 64 of the same number and location as holes 52 and holes 58. However, as best 6een in Fig. 9, the top and bottom of each hole 64 is flared outwardly such that conic sections are formed adjacent the top and bottom surfaces of slide 44 60 as not to cut or permanently di6tort tubes 54.

The bottom surface of 61ide 44 i6 reces6ed and provided with eight downwardly extending ribs 66. Each rib 66 i6 aligned with a different rib 62 on bottom plate 40. Between each set of aligned ribs 66, 62 is situated a row of outlet tubes 54. Movement of slide 44 relative'to bottom plate 40 causes ri~s 66 to move towards ribs 62 such that the outlet tubes are pinched closed, compare Figs. 5, 7 and 8.

However, as is best seen in Figs. 6 and 8, the surface of rib 66 does not act directly on the walls of the outlet tubes 54.
Instead, it acts through a resilient member 68. Member 68 is formed of a sections of Teflon encapsulated silicone O-ring cord commercially available from Lutz Sales Co., Inc. of 4675 Turnbury Dr., Hanover Park, Illionis 60103. Member 68 deforms as ribs 66 and 62 are moved toward each other and pinches tubes 54 as seen in Figs. 7 and 8 in a manner which does not crush or permanently deform the wall of the tube. Thus, the tube reliably returns to its original shape when the 61ide returns to its original position, as seen in Figs. 5 and 6.

C ~ 5 ~ 0~EJrr\Do~ \B~5\~S - 2 9 . ~35 26 A~ best seen in Fig. 9, which is an enlarged exploded cro6s-6ection of a portion of the valve block, the 6urface of each rib 66 adjacent the resilient member is arcuate to accomodate the curved 6urface of the resilient member. This curved rib surface insures the proper positioning the resilient member relative to the outlet tubes.

Each end of bottom plate 40 is provided with a plurality of holes 71 each of which is aligned with the space between a dif-ferent set of ri~s 62, 66. Holes 71 extend to the exterior surface of the plate and have a diameter slightly larger than that of the resilient members 68. Holes 71 permit resilient members 68 to be inserted between the ribs 62, 66 after the valve block has been assembled. Holes 71 may be capped or stopped after the resilient members are inserted.

Movement of slide 44 relative to plates 40 and 44 is achieved through the use of end cap 42. End cap 42 has openings 70 to accommodate screws for securing it to bottom and top plates. It also has a central opening 72 through which a threaded screw 74 with a knob 76 extends. The inner diameter of opening 72 is larger then the outer diameter of screw 74 such that screw 74 can rotate freely within opening 72. Screw 76 engages an internally threaded opening 78 in slide 44 such that rotation of screw 76 in a clock-wise direction causes slide 44 to move relative to bottom plate 40 such that ribs 66 move towards ribs 62 to close the rows of outlet C:\~751\RO~ T\DOCS\E~MS\a1~5-29.ABS 27 tubes simultaneou61y. Rotating 6crew 76 in the counter-clockwise direction moves the slide to the extreme open posiiton, as 6hown in Fig6. 5 and 6 6uch that di6charge of fluids through outlet tubes 54 is unimpeded. Overtightening of the plates and crushing or defor-mation of the tubes is prevented by this 6tructure while complete closure of all tubes is insured when the valve is closed.

Situated under valve block C is collection block D. As seen in Fig. 2, block D consists of a locator plate 77 with a large, generally rectangular central opening 80. Situated below locator plate 77 is a vacuum adapter 79. Adapter 79 has a central recess 81 adapted to receive a collection plate, preferrably in the form of a 96 well densely packed microtiter plate 82 of 6tandard dimension and configuration. For reasons explained below, locator plate 77 functions to shift the position of microtiter plate 82 relative to reactor block A. One simple way to accomplish this is to provide plate 77 in two forms, such that the vacuum adapter is chifted in position, in one form of the locator plate relative to the other. In this way, the position of microtiter plate 82 i6 shifted relative to the reactor vessels simply by substituting one form of locator plate 77 for the other.

Liquid is drawn downward through the valve block into the microtiter plate using vacuum adapter 79 which is commercially available from Polyfiltronics, Inc. of 100 Weymouth Street, Rockland MA 02370 which is sold under part number VAC-003. The C: \~751\R08Q'r\~CS~llMS\8MS - 29 .A8S 28 Polyfiltronics vacuum adapter i6 modified by adding two upstanding locator pins 83 which fit into location holes 84 in locator plate 77. Two different locator plates 77 are used alternately to align the reactor properly over the microtiter plate for product collection.

Collection block D is situated immediately below valve block C. The vertical position of collection block D relative to valve block C can be altered such that different height collection vessels can be utilized in wells 12 of the microtiter plate simply by addition of the appropriate size ~pacers (not shown).

Although microtiter plate 82 is capable of receiving 96 collection vessel6 in its densely packed well array, reactors designed to accept microcanni6ters cannot be positioned densely enough to align with all 96 wells. Hence, two reactors, of slight-ly different configuration, are normally necessary if all 96 wells in the microtiter plate are to be used. However, having different reactor configurations greatly complicates the situation and increases the cost.

We overcome this problem by using a single reactor in which 52 possible reactor vessel positions are provided. Thus, two different sets, of 48 vessel positions each, can be selected. By changing the position of the microtiter plate relative to the reactor ~lock, after ~electing the second set of 48 vessel posi-C \~51\RO~E~\OO~\~S\~MS-29~Aas 29 tions for u6e, discharge into all of the wells in the microtiter plate can achieved without using two different reactor configura-tions. ~his i6 illustrated schematically in Figs. 11 and 12.

These figures 6how pre6sure plate 14 of reactor block A
and microtiter plate 82 of collection block D. The reactor block A has 52 possible reactor vessel positions, thirteen columns of four positions each. In Fig. 11, reactor vessels are shown in all but the right most column. Microtiter plate 82 is shown as posi-tioned toward the left of the drawings, such that reactors in the 48 occupied positions will discharge into the 48 collection vessels loca~ed in the wells in the microtiter plate desisnated with a dot.

Referring now to Figure 12, during the next synthesis set, all of the positions in the reactor block are selected except the left most column. By utilizing a slightly different locator plate 77, the microtiter plate is shifted to the right, relative to the reactor vessels. Vessels located in the positions marked by an "X" discharge into the unused 48 collection vessels in the micro-titer plate. In this way, the same apparatus, used a second time after shifting the relative position of the microtiter plate, can be used to discharge into all 96 wells of a densely packed microtiter plate.

Figures 13 and 14 illustrate the structure of the two forms of locator plate 77. With the locator plate shown in Fig.

C:\~PSl\RO~E2T~DOC5\~MS\BMS-29.A~IS 30 13, the reces6 81 in vacuum adapter 79 containing microtiter plate 82 i8 shifted in position as compared to recess 81 in the adapter shown in Fig. 14. Thu6, by selecting the appropriate locator plate form, the ~icrotiter plate will be aligned with either one or the other 6et of 48 reactor vessel6.

As illustrated in Figure 8, each reactor vessel 10 i8 designed 60 as to receive a commercially available ponls polyethe-lyene microcannister 88 with a radio frequency transmitter tag.
T-hese microcannisters are sold by Irori Quantum Microchemistry of of 11025 North Torrey Pines Road, LaJolla, CA 92037 and contain the solid phase 6upport. They are porus so as to permit solutions to pass through. They are tagged through the use of a microchip with a semiconductor memory which can store an identification code and other infor~ation relating to the construction of the compound in the cannister. The tags can be interrogated to obtain the stored information.

The technique for encoding and tracking combinatorial chemical libraries with this type of microcannister is disclosed in a article entitled "Radiofrequency Encoded Combinatorial Chemistry"
by K.C. Nicolaou, Xiao-Yi Xiao, Zahra Parandoosh, Andrew Senyei and Michael P. Nova, published in Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl, 1995, Vol. 34 No. 20 at pages 22~9-2291; and an article entitled "Radio Frequency Tag Encoded Combinatorial Library Method for the Dis-covery of Tripeptide-Substituted Cinn~ic Acid Inhibitors of the C~ ps~\RosERs\Docs\i~s\aMs-29.AlaS 31 Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase PTPlB~ by Edmund Moran, Sepehr Sarshar, John G. Cargill, Manouchehr M. Shahbaz, Anna Lio, Adnan M.
M. Mjalli and Robert Armstrong in J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1995, Vol. 117, No. 43 10787-10788.

One of the advantages of the pre6ent invention is that reactor vessels large enough to receive commercially available microcannisters with radio frequency transmitter tags for tracking of the reactors can be employed and a single reactor can be used to deposit directly into all of the 96 wells of a standard microtiter plate. This greatly reduces the complexity and cost of the system while still permitting automated tracking.

It should also be noted that although the apparatus of the present invention is primarily designed for solid and solution phase combinatorial synthesis, the reaction vessels could be filled with a sorbent and the products could be purified by passing them through the sorbent, a process known as "solid phase extraction~l.
It is believed that the present design results in a better solid phase extraction apparatus than anything currently available.

It will now be appreciated that the apparatus of the pre-sent invention consists of a modular reactor which is simple in design, small in size, light in weight and inexpensive to build and operate. It includes a simplied yet extremely reliable valve means for simultaneously regulating the discharge from the reactor ves-C:\~PS1\1~08~T\D~5\8MS\8MS-29.A85 32 ~, , 6els without crushing or deforming the reactor vessel outlet tubes.
The reactor ve~6els are suitable for receiving porus polyethelene microcannister6 with radio frequency transmitter tags for use in automated encoding. By providing 52 reactor vessel po6itions in the reactor block and a collector block which can shift a standard 96 microtiter plate between two different relative positions, a single reactor can be used to di6charge into all 96 wells of the microtiter plate. Multilevel alignment standoffs facilitate mount-ing and alignment of selected components to obtain the desired con-figuration Moreover, the apparatus of the present invention can be used to perform the entire 6ynthesis or only to perform the cleavage step in a radio frequency tagged synthesis.

~ ile only a limited number of preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for purposes of illustra-tion, it is obvious that many variations and modifications thereof are possible. It is intended to cover all of these variations and modifications, which fall within the scope of the present inven-tion, as recited by the following claims:

C ~ 51 \ROB Eil'r \ DOCS \ BMS \ 8~5 - 2 ~ . >~ 5 33

Claims (18)

WE CLAIM:
1. Apparatus useful for the synthesis of multiple orga-nic compounds, adapted to receive an array of individual reactor vessels, each vessel having a port connected to an outlet tube, valve means for the simultaneous regulation of discharge through said outlet tubes, said valve means comprising first and second aligned, relatively moveable surfaces between which said outlet tubes extend and resilient means interposed between one of said surfaces and said outlet tubes, such that relative movement of said surfaces causes force to be applied through said resilient means to close said outlet tubes.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said surfaces com-prise plates.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said surfaces com-prise ribs on plates.
4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said resilient means comprises Teflon encapsulated silicone O-ring cord.
5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein one of said sur-faces is shaped to correspond to the exterior shape of said re-silient means.
6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein one of said sur-faces has an arcuate shape.
7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said valve means is located below the reactor vessels.
8. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein one of said plates comprises an opening through which said resilient means can be in-serted between said ribs.
9. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising collec-tion means, said collection means comprising an array of collection wells.
10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said collection means has 2X number of collection wells and said apparatus is adapted to receive X number of reactor vessels in Y number of pos-sible positions, where Y is a number larger than X.
11. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said reactor ves-sels comprise porus polyethylene microcannisters with radio fre-quency transmitter tags.
12. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising multi-level component alignment means.
13. Valve means for the simultaneous regulation of dis-charge through outlet tubes connected to the ports of reactor ves-sels received in apparatus for the manipulation of multiple organic compounds, the valve means comprising first and second aligned, relatively moveable surfaces between which the outlet tubes extend and resilient means interposed between one of said surfaces and the outlet tubes, such that relative movement of said surfaces causes force to be applied through said resilient means to close the out-let tubes.
14. The means of claim 13 wherein said surfaces comprise plates.
15. The means of claim 13 wherein said surfaces com-prises ribs on plates.
16. The means of claim 13 wherein said resilient means comprises Teflon encapsulated silicone O-ring cord.
17. The means of claim 13 wherein one of said surfaces is shaped to correspond to the exterior shape of said resilient means.
18. The means of claim 13 wherein one of said surfaces has an arcuate shape.
CA002246088A 1997-09-22 1998-08-28 Apparatus for synthesis of multiple organic compounds with pinch valve block Expired - Lifetime CA2246088C (en)

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EP2289616A3 (en) 2011-08-24
US6432366B2 (en) 2002-08-13
EP1302242A3 (en) 2006-01-11
CA2246088A1 (en) 1999-03-22
US6267930B1 (en) 2001-07-31
US20010019705A1 (en) 2001-09-06
EP1300191A3 (en) 2006-01-11
EP0903176A2 (en) 1999-03-24
EP1300191A2 (en) 2003-04-09
EP1302242B1 (en) 2018-03-21
ATE510623T1 (en) 2011-06-15
EP0903176B1 (en) 2011-05-25
EP0903176A3 (en) 2000-03-01
EP1302242A2 (en) 2003-04-16
EP2289616A2 (en) 2011-03-02
US5961925A (en) 1999-10-05
ES2365664T3 (en) 2011-10-10

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