Expeditious and Automated Dispensing of ChemBeads for High-Throughput Experimentation in 384-Well Microtiter Plates

A unique automated dispensing robot to dose chemical-coated beads in microtiter plates (MTPs) at unprecedented speed is reported. With its novel dosing head design, ChemBeads can be reliably dosed volumetrically into 96- and 384-well MTPs. The platform features an intuitive graphical user interface, rendering the dosing protocol easy and flexible while ensuring traceability. This technology eliminates the need for multiple precatalyst/ligand stock solutions and overcomes the time constraint typically associated with automated gravimetric solid dosing. We also introduce a general workflow for performing metal-catalyzed reactions in 384-well glass MTPs under demanding conditions. The streamlined process was validated with a challenging C–N cross coupling reaction, conducted at elevated temperatures under heterogeneous conditions and using solvents rarely utilized in ultrahigh-throughput experimentation.