Organogel media for on-bead screening in combinatorial catalysis

Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVdF) forms thermoreversible gels with a number of dipolar aprotic solvents. Gels were prepared containing chromogenic substrates, subject to transformation by polymer-bound catalysts. When the catalysts were mixed with inactive beads and applied to the surface of the gels, the active beads were identifiable through colour changes. Active beads could also be visualised by thermographic imaging. These methods hold promise for catalyst discovery from split-and-mix combinatorial libraries.