Periodic Reporting for period 1 - FastEE (Fast and accurate enantiomeric and chemical analysis)
Reporting period: 2021-01-01 to 2022-06-30
Chiral molecules exist as two forms, called enantiomers, which are mirror images of each other but which are not superimposable. Chirality plays a crucial role in many biological processes. For instance, two enantiomers of a chemical species can have different healing properties, one being a medicine while its mirror image is a poison. Chirality is thus extremely important in the pharmaceutical industry, the majority of drugs currently on the market being chiral. In that context, measuring the enantiomeric purity of chemical compounds is vital.
The FastEE was built upon a new technique to measure enantiomeric purity, using femtosecond laser pulses to ionize the molecules and detecting the angular distribution of the ejected electrons. This technique, initially developed using fundamental research facilities, has been successfully integrated within a compact and cost effective demonstrator instrument. An innovative optical design has been developed to reduce the necessary laser power by one order of magnitude, considerably cutting down the cost of the instrument. The enantiomeric purity of about 20 species has been measured, using not only volatile molecules but also solid compounds, demonstrating the universality of the method. The error bars on the measurements were decreased to 0.04%, which is beyond the highest industrial standards. A market opportunity research has been conducted to evaluate the needs of the industry and the various possibilities of technology transfer.
The FastEE was built upon a new technique to measure enantiomeric purity, using femtosecond laser pulses to ionize the molecules and detecting the angular distribution of the ejected electrons. This technique, initially developed using fundamental research facilities, has been successfully integrated within a compact and cost effective demonstrator instrument. An innovative optical design has been developed to reduce the necessary laser power by one order of magnitude, considerably cutting down the cost of the instrument. The enantiomeric purity of about 20 species has been measured, using not only volatile molecules but also solid compounds, demonstrating the universality of the method. The error bars on the measurements were decreased to 0.04%, which is beyond the highest industrial standards. A market opportunity research has been conducted to evaluate the needs of the industry and the various possibilities of technology transfer.