Abstract: The invention provides methods, apparatus, and systems for performing high-throughput preparation and screening of salts and polymorphs of drug candidates. The invention is directed towards enhancing the pre-formulation discovery process used for drug development. In particular, processes that determine suitable salts and processes that discover substantially every polymorph that can form from a particular drug candidate are provided. The processes are performed using several apparatuses that are specifically configured to carry-out various steps in a high-throughput characterization process. One such apparatus is configured for synthesizing a plurality of library members based on, for example, a library model generated by a computer system. Another apparatus may filter the synthesized solution to provide a substantially pure mixture that can be subjected to salt or polymorph testing.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
May 24, 2002
Date of Patent:
September 6, 2005
Assignee:
Symyx Technologies, Inc.
Inventors:
Eric D. Carlson, Peijun Cong, William H. Chandler, Jr., Peter J. Desrosiers, J. Christopher Freitag, John F. Varni