A library of 117 ligands was combined with three transition metals Ru, Rh and Ir and screened with three different operating conditions for the asymmetric H-transfer reduction of acetophenone into phenylethanol. The combinatorial approach was based on evolution of a first library containing 60 ligands. For the evolution, operators such as replication, regression, cross-over and mutation were used. The study was performed with a XYZ robot and fast chiral GC analysis. Over only 4 generations, the average targeted criterion, enantioselectivity, was increased from 20% to ca. 80% for the 4(th) generation. The best results provided enantiomeric excess up to 93%.
Abdallah, R., Grenouillet, P., Vriamont, N., Riant, O., & de Bellefon, C. (2010). High Throughput Screening and Evolution of a Library of Ligands in Asymmetric H-Transfer Reduction of Acetophenone. Combinatorial Chemistry & High Throughput Screening, 13(5), 393-413. https://doi.org/10.2174/138620710791292985 (Original work published 2010)