Self-driving chemistry for cleaner oceans, green reactions and modern medicines

Nathalie Katsonis and Wesley Browne study how polluting oil layers oxidize and spread on seawater under the influence of sunlight. Indeed, an oil spill is not chemically inert: sunlight and seawater change its composition over time. Therefore, this automated research line holds a lot of test tubes with a range of seawater samples and oil under a UV light. At set intervals, the machine moves them to a camera that inspects the test tubes. Image recognition registers the change of the oil over time in all these different samples. 

Katsonis and Browne want to use this information to select the surfactants that can clean up oil in various situations. ‘Such surfactants break a large area of oil into smaller droplets. If you know the exact composition of the oil, you can also make an informed choice for the best surfactants, and the right amount.’ 

In this video, the automation is demonstrated by Manee Patanapongpibul. Voice-over from Bente Reus.

RNA vaccines use messenger RNA (mRNA) to stimulate an immune response in the body. The stability of such an mRNA molecule depends both on its sequence (the order of molecular building blocks) and on the protective environment of surfactants around it. This automated research line uses light to investigate the structure of so-called chiral molecules. Chiral molecules have a particular “handedness”, much like a left and right hand. The two ‘hands’ can have very different properties, even though they are made of the same types of atoms. RNA is built from chiral molecular components and adopts a chiral three-dimensional structure. By analysing how RNA interacts with light, the instrument can provide information about how the molecule is folded and organised, and how its structure changes under different conditions.

Tibor Kudernac and his team use this automated research line to study the stability of RNA molecules. With the outcomes, they want to map how mRNA stability depends on RNA sequence as well as the vaccine composition: which sequences survive best, how can we best protect them, and under which conditions they degrade. 

In this video, the automation is demonstrated and narrated by Bente Reus.

Many (chemical) products use hydrocarbons in their production process, relying on fossil-based sources. Replacing these hydrocarbons with alternative substances could lead to greener production processes. With this robot, Robert Pollice and Ben Feringa are testing out various catalytic reactions, in which one substance (the catalyst) helps speed up a reaction between other substances. 

In particular, Pollice and Feringa study how surfactant molecules organize themselves into tiny clusters of surfactant molecules, which affects how well they work as catalysts. 

In related projects, Ben Feringa and Adri Minnaard search for bio-based surfactants for renewable cleaning products. 

In this video, the automation is demonstrated and narrated by Lisa Fang and Emil Hodzic.

Consider shampoos, detergents, food emulsions or pharmaceutical formulations: the acidity (or pH) of these complex mixtures cannot be predicted, yet it determines whether molecules remain dispersed, whether droplets stay stable, whether foams persist and whether active ingredients are protected or degraded. For surfactants and amphiphiles specifically, acidity is not simply a fixed number: it changes with concentration, salt content and the way molecules assemble.

With this self-driving laboratory, Nicolas Cissé, Big Chemistry Postdoctoral Fellow, wants to measure how diluting or mixing amphiphiles modifies their acidity across many conditions. The results of these measurements will help in understanding when a mixture of surfactants is stable, where it becomes fragile, and how to redesign if needed.  

In this video, the automation is demonstrated and narrated by Nicolas Cissé.