ACD/Labs and Protasis Shatter the High-Throughput Bottleneck for NMR Analysis

An automated NMR verification system combining Protasis' One-Minute NMR system and ACD/Labs' ACD/Automation Server—effectively automating the entire NMR process, from loading samples to interpretation— has been successfully deployed in three high-profile, high-throughput laboratories.

Traditionally, high-throughput laboratories experience a bottleneck in the interpretation of NMR spectra as the ability to generate more data increases. The combined system from ACD/Labs and Protasis allows users to seamlessly collect samples, and automatically confirm the identity of the synthesized compounds in a matter of minutes. One particular laboratory within a large pharmaceutical company implemented the new system and now automatically confirms the structure-spectrum matches for greater than 50% of their high-throughput samples. This translates directly into a 50% decrease in the workload of spectrum interpretation.

"Routine spectrum interpretation can be made a thing of the past with this system. Now, a user can automatically have their spectrum-structure match confirmed by the software and not have to look at the spectrum at all.” commented Brent Lefebvre, NMR Product Manager at ACD/Labs. “In fact, this is what one of our first users is doing with his 1D Proton spectra. Fifty percent of his workload is being handled by this system. Connecting our spectrum analysis software with the instrument automation of One-Minute NMR from Protasis, is enabling a shift back to high-throughput NMR. No longer is the data bottleneck an issue of this system."

Adds Bob Albrecht, One-Minute NMR Product Manager, Protasis, "Our automation system and probe increases the efficiency of sample submission, NMR detection, and throughput on any instrument. By working closely with ACD/Labs we are able to combine the best processing and databasing software, with our front-end to deliver the answers chemists need to do their work more effectively, using existing NMR equipment in the most efficient way possible. Continued work with ACD/Labs will put us in a position to deliver accuracy at least as good as that of human experts for structure verification and possibly elucidation."