University of Virginia Health System

Combinatorial chemistry is best described as the intersection of many disciplines namely, chemistry, robotics, instrumentation, computer science, and engineering. It focuses on the use of very large numbers, either of the chemical entities themselves or of the number of trials (experiments), carried out in parallel to answer questions faster and more comprehensively than can be achieved by the more conventional sequential experimentation protocols. Another way of looking at combinatorial techniques is to think of a complex problem as a very large search space of all possible solutions, and where experimentation is carried out to generate many of these solutions with an adequate coverage of this space to rapidly determine an acceptable solution to the designated problem. The combinatorial procedure can readily be broken down into a number of well-defined steps, namely: · Analysis of the problem and the definition of the appropriate search space. · Design of the experimental protocol for the generation of candidate solutions. · Use of robotics to carry out the required number of synthetic steps. · Measurement (assay) of each outcome (compound/protocol) in terms of the problem at hand. · Analysis of both the positive and negative data obtained, to gain the greatest insight into the properties and or characteristics of successful solutions to the problem. In recent years combinatorial techniques are being applied to chemistry related endeavors other than to its original application, that of drug discovery. My research interests are centered on the demonstration and development of technologies applicable to any problem with a numerically large solution space.

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http://www.virginia.edu/chem/people/faculty/geysen/