An Automated Computer‐Vision “Bubble‐Counting” Technique to Characterise CO₂ Dissolution into an Acetonitrile Flow Stream in a Teflon AF‐2400 Tube‐in‐Tube Flow Device (2022)
Journal Article
O'Brien, M., & Moraru, R. (2023). An Automated Computer‐Vision “Bubble‐Counting” Technique to Characterise CO2 Dissolution into an Acetonitrile Flow Stream in a Teflon AF‐2400 Tube‐in‐Tube Flow Device. ChemPlusChem, 88(1), https://doi.org/10.1002/cplu.202200167

AbstractA Teflon AF‐2400 based tube‐in‐tube device was used to generate flow streams of CO2 in acetonitrile and a computer‐vision based ‘bubble counting’ technique was used to estimate the amount of CO2 that had passed into solution whilst in the tub... Read More about An Automated Computer‐Vision “Bubble‐Counting” Technique to Characterise CO₂ Dissolution into an Acetonitrile Flow Stream in a Teflon AF‐2400 Tube‐in‐Tube Flow Device.

A tutored discourse on microcontrollers, single board computers and their applications to monitor and control chemical reactions (2020)
Journal Article
Fitzpatrick, D., O'Brien, M., & Ley, S. (2020). A tutored discourse on microcontrollers, single board computers and their applications to monitor and control chemical reactions. Reaction Chemistry and Engineering, 5(2), 201-220. https://doi.org/10.1039/C9RE00407F

This Tutored Discourse constitutes a preliminary exposure on how synthesis chemists can engage positively with inexpensive, low-power microcontrollers to aid control, monitoring and optimisation of chemical reactions. The acquired skillset adds a new... Read More about A tutored discourse on microcontrollers, single board computers and their applications to monitor and control chemical reactions.

Highly diastereoselective boron and titanium mediated aldol reactions of a mannitol derived 2,3-butanediacetal ethyl ketone (2018)
Journal Article
O'Brien, M., Weber, A., Hardy, G., & Ley, S. (2018). Highly diastereoselective boron and titanium mediated aldol reactions of a mannitol derived 2,3-butanediacetal ethyl ketone. Tetrahedron, 5319 - 5329. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tet.2018.06.041

A mannitol derived 2,3-butanediacetal ethyl ketone displays high levels of diastereoselectivity in boron and titanium mediated aldol reactions with a range of aliphatic and aromatic aldehydes to afford syn aldol products in high yield. The stereochem... Read More about Highly diastereoselective boron and titanium mediated aldol reactions of a mannitol derived 2,3-butanediacetal ethyl ketone.

Gas-liquid flow hydrogenation of nitroarenes: Efficient access to a pharmaceutically relevant pyrrolobenzo[1,4]diazepine scaffold (2018)
Journal Article
Dimitriou, E., Jones, R., Pritchard, R., Miller, G., & O'Brien, M. (2018). Gas-liquid flow hydrogenation of nitroarenes: Efficient access to a pharmaceutically relevant pyrrolobenzo[1,4]diazepine scaffold. Tetrahedron, 74(47), 6795-6803. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tet.2018.09.025

Using a Tube-in-Tube device based on the amorphous Teflon AF-2400 fluoropolymer, a series of nitroarenes was hydrogenated to afford the corresponding aniline compounds. The system was then applied to the construction of a pyrrolobenzo[1,4]diazapene s... Read More about Gas-liquid flow hydrogenation of nitroarenes: Efficient access to a pharmaceutically relevant pyrrolobenzo[1,4]diazepine scaffold.

An open-source approach to automation in organic synthesis: The flow chemical formation of benzamides using an inline liquid-liquid extraction system and a homemade 3-axis autosampling/product-collection device (2018)
Journal Article
O'Brien, M., Hall, A., Schrauwen, J., & van der Made, J. (2018). An open-source approach to automation in organic synthesis: The flow chemical formation of benzamides using an inline liquid-liquid extraction system and a homemade 3-axis autosampling/product-collection device. Tetrahedron, 3152-3157. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tet.2018.02.043

Several open-source hardware and software technologies (RAMPS, Python, PySerial, OpenCV) were used to control an automated flow chemical synthesis system. The system was used to effect the synthesis of a series of benzamides. An inexpensive Raspberry... Read More about An open-source approach to automation in organic synthesis: The flow chemical formation of benzamides using an inline liquid-liquid extraction system and a homemade 3-axis autosampling/product-collection device.

An automated colorimetric inline titration of CO2 concentrations in solvent flow streams using a Teflon AF-2400 tube-in-tube device (2017)
Journal Article
O'Brien, M. (2017). An automated colorimetric inline titration of CO2 concentrations in solvent flow streams using a Teflon AF-2400 tube-in-tube device. Journal of Co2 Utilization, 21, 580 - 588. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcou.2017.08.020

Abstract Using a number of open source software components (Python, SciPy, OpenCV, PySerial), together with an inexpensive webcam device, an automated inline colorimetric titration methodology was developed to measure CO2 concentration levels in orga... Read More about An automated colorimetric inline titration of CO2 concentrations in solvent flow streams using a Teflon AF-2400 tube-in-tube device.

Harnessing open-source technology for low-cost automation in synthesis: flow chemical deprotection of silyl ethers using a homemade autosampling system. (2017)
Journal Article
O'Brien, M., Konings, L., Martin, M., & Heap, J. (2017). Harnessing open-source technology for low-cost automation in synthesis: flow chemical deprotection of silyl ethers using a homemade autosampling system. Tetrahedron Letters, 2409-2413. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tetlet.2017.05.008

An inexpensive homemade 3-axis autosampler was used to facilitate the automation of an acid catalysed flow chemical desilylation reaction. Harnessing open-source software technologies (Python, OpenCV), an automated computer-vision controlled liquid-l... Read More about Harnessing open-source technology for low-cost automation in synthesis: flow chemical deprotection of silyl ethers using a homemade autosampling system..

Continuous flow iodination using an automated computer-vision controlled liquid-liquid extraction system (2017)
Journal Article
O'Brien, M., Cooper, D., & Dolan, J. (2017). Continuous flow iodination using an automated computer-vision controlled liquid-liquid extraction system. Tetrahedron Letters, 829 - 834. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tetlet.2017.01.029

Abstract A dynamic computer-vision control system incorporating open-source software technologies (Python, OpenCV) was used to automate a gravity based in-line liquid-liquid extraction during the iodination of enaminones in continuous flow. The syste... Read More about Continuous flow iodination using an automated computer-vision controlled liquid-liquid extraction system.

Furanyl Cyclic Ethers: Single and Double Diastereoselectivity in the Synthesis of 2,4-Di and 2,4,5-Trisubstituted Tetrahydropyrans. (2017)
Journal Article
O'Brien, M., Tizzard, G., Coles, S., Cooper, D., & Robbins, E. (2017). Furanyl Cyclic Ethers: Single and Double Diastereoselectivity in the Synthesis of 2,4-Di and 2,4,5-Trisubstituted Tetrahydropyrans. Journal of Organic Chemistry, 3441-3455. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.joc.6b02831

Combining the desymmetrization of a prochiral bis-hydroxymethyl group with the epimerization of a chiral furanyl ether in a single transformation, high levels of double diastereoselectivity have been achieved in a synthesis of 2,4,5-trisubstituted te... Read More about Furanyl Cyclic Ethers: Single and Double Diastereoselectivity in the Synthesis of 2,4-Di and 2,4,5-Trisubstituted Tetrahydropyrans..

Creating 3-Dimensional Molecular Models to Help Students Visualize Stereoselective Reaction Pathways (2016)
Journal Article
O'Brien. (2016). Creating 3-Dimensional Molecular Models to Help Students Visualize Stereoselective Reaction Pathways. Journal of Chemical Education, 1663 - 1666. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.6b00250

An approach to the creation of learning materials that aid the visualization of stereoselective reaction pathways is presented. Molecular editing software can be used to create models of various transition-state geometries. These 3-dimensional models... Read More about Creating 3-Dimensional Molecular Models to Help Students Visualize Stereoselective Reaction Pathways.

Continuous Flow Liquid-Liquid Separation Using a Computer-Vision Control System: The Bromination of Enaminones with N-Bromosuccinimide (2016)
Journal Article
Cooper, D., & O'Brien, M. (2016). Continuous Flow Liquid-Liquid Separation Using a Computer-Vision Control System: The Bromination of Enaminones with N-Bromosuccinimide. SYNLETT, 164 - 168. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0035-1560975

Incorporating open-source software components (Python, OpenCV), a computer-vision system was used to control the interface level in a gravity-based inline liquid–liquid separation device. This was used in the continuous flow bromination of a series o... Read More about Continuous Flow Liquid-Liquid Separation Using a Computer-Vision Control System: The Bromination of Enaminones with N-Bromosuccinimide.