Assembly and Application of a Low Budget Photoreactor

• Published in: Chemistry methods Vol. 1; no. 5; pp. 240 - 244
• Main Authors: Wallner, Olov, Mamonov, Kirill, Ortis, Florian, Michel, Dana, Michel, Maurice
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.05.2021
• Subjects: Photolabile; photoreactor; protection group; SARS-Cov-2; spike protein
• ISSN: 2628-9725; 2628-9725
• DOI: 10.1002/cmtd.202100022

Photochemistry is a fast growing research field and many transformations previously not accessible to chemists now have become part of an ever growing standard repertoire. The limiting factors for a photoreactor system however are the possibility to perform stirring, removal of excess heat and the irradiation with UV or visible light – all that within a secure surrounding. Systems for starters may be as expensive as several thousand Euro. Here we design and assemble a LED photoreactor using scrap and standard materials, spending less than 30 € for a LED. The system may be adjusted to any required wavelength and its assembly is shown for the use of a 400 nm LED. To demonstrate its application, we then exemplarily use the reactor in the removal of a photolabile protection group during the synthesis of a SARS‐CoV‐2 spike protein glycopeptide. The broad application of safely operable photochemistry systems is still limited, mainly due to the scarce availability of affordable models. Here the stepwise planning and assembly of a safe low budget photoreactor is described, using only scrap materials and a commercial LED. As an example, the system is then applied in the removal of a photolabile protection group for the post‐translational modification of synthetic peptides.