FNWI researchers at Amsterdam Science Park led by Prof. Timothy Noël are developing an autonomous robotic system to optimize peptides for drug development. The project integrates AI-driven synthesis robotics with advanced analytical instruments.
Drugs like Ozempic are peptide-based. Optimizing these molecules, (making them more soluble, more effective) currently requires lengthy, repetitive lab work. For researchers, this means: changing one factor at a time, analyzing results, starting over. A PhD student may spend months on this alone.
This work is repetitive, time-consuming, and can be dangerous when handling reactive compounds.
Prof. Timothy Noël and his flow chemistry team at FNWI have developed autonomous robotic synthesis platforms since 2020. The first version, RoboChem, optimized reaction conditions using AI.
An AI algorithm learns which chemicals work together and which oppose each other. Instead of changing one factor at a time, algorithms explore those relationships in parallel. Work that takes a PhD student months gets done in weeks. Continuously. 24/7.
Noël also developed RoboChem flex: a version costing roughly $5,000.
In the MMD TechHub project, Noël, Andrea Gargano, and Bob Pirok are integrating advanced analytical instruments into RoboChem for peptide optimization. This platform is called RoboBioConjugator.
Peptides are much larger molecules than the small molecules RoboChem currently handles. This requires different analytical methods. Gargano and Pirok bring that analytical expertise. Together, they are creating a system that can autonomously optimize peptides.
Source: UvA website
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