Parallel chemistry

There was a time in my life, a while ago indeed, when I was engaged in the field of parallel chemistry. I wasn’t really working in the lab though, but rather working in the marketing and product development department of a Swiss firm that some of you may know: Buchi, the house bringing the Rotary Evaporator to the world. During three years I was developing a new instrument for parallel evaporation and preparing the international launch of this Syncore line (I named it Syncore, for Synthesis and Core Technology, and like a father watching his little boy moving out of the family house, I am still very proud on this baby of mine and sometimes miss it).
Parallel chemistry is basically doing similar chemical reactions in parallel, thus reducing hands-on time and getting more different products at the same time. It is a brute approach with intelligence attached to it. I am sure; it is employed in perfumery by some “createurs de parfums”, too. I am sometimes tempted to leave the noble path of thoroughly immersing myself in one single approach but rather use a brute parallel lineout. This line of thinking comes up every time when I get the impression of moving around in circles.

The little chemistry devil on my shoulder whispering something like ….“Skip the creative and painful approach and move on to brute mass trials of parallel combinations; you will love it, find the Holy Grail, and will live happily thereafter and have extra time to do your favourite blog reading…..” So far, little devil was just not convincing enough, but the Holy Grail is a definitively a teaser….. (more on the Holy Grail on Eieflud’s blog here).