Almac Sciences, a member of the Almac Group, has invested £350,000 in an automated crystallisation platform to support solid form screening of polymorphs, salts and crystals in addition to crystallisation of amorphous materials. An Empyrean X-ray powder diffractometer, used for sample analysis, represents a further £250,000 investment by the company.
The ChemSpeed Swing Crystal platform automates common crystallisation operations, which is aimed to reduce the overall duration of solid form screening projects. It accommodates a 24/7 run schedule and allows for rapid screening of various crystallisation conditions, including where limited sample quantity is available.
The platform can weigh up to eight different powdered solids from 1mg- 100g, including either amorphous or crystalline material and electrostatic powders. It handles up to 60 different liquids, including a range of organic solvents, acid and base solutions for volumetric dispensing from 100µL-10mL, and can dispense into glass vials or well-plates suitable for direct analysis by X-ray powder diffraction.
It can carry out a range of crystallisation unit operations, including evaporation, slurry, temperature cycling, and antisolvent additions, reportedly maximising the chance of nucleation/crystallisation of the material.
The platform is currently set up to accommodate vials and has been selected due to its ability to be adapted, allowing the ability to facilitate well-plates in future.
Dr Jonathan Loughrey, Physical Sciences Manager, Almac Sciences, commented: “We are excited to remain at the forefront of solid form research and development by embracing automation to maximise experimental diversity and sample throughput for tailored work programs to ensure our clients receive a premier service offering.”
Professor Tom Moody, VP Technology Development and Commercialisation, Almac Sciences and Arran Chemical Company, said: “Almac Sciences is a cutting-edge science and technology partner and we are committed to investing in the latest equipment to best serve our clients. With the time and cost saving benefits of automation in mind, we’re delighted to announce this further investment into automating our crystallisation capabilities which is modular in design enabling elements to be upgraded in the future for expanded use cases.”
