The Hartwell Center's Macromolecular Synthesis laboratory has purchased and installed a new Odyssey Microwave Peptide Synthesizer from CEM Corporation. Traditionally, solid phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) has been performed at room temperature and been a very time consuming process. Standard amino acid cycle times are approximately 2 hours with conventional methods. The Odyssey is the first peptide synthesizer to use microwave energy to increase the rate of peptide coupling reactions. Standard amino acid cycle times are approximately 30 minutes with the Odyssey . The Odyssey is configured to make one peptide at a time, with the capability for programmed automated, consecutive synthesis of multiple peptides. The greatest impact of the Odyssey is our ability to fill small orders in a timely fashion, reducing waiting times to 2-3 days in some cases.
