Determination of the activity of heterofunctionalized catalysts from mixtures

A conceptually new approach for the rapid determination of the activity of heterofunctionalized catalysts is described. A small library of catalysts is synthesized via a one-pot synthesis and screened for activity without separating the library members. The screening of libraries with varying catalyst distributions and subsequent deconvolution allows the determination of the activity of each catalyst separately. This approach is applied to a four-component library of biomimetic catalysts active in the cleavage of HPNP, a model compound for RNA. The rate constants for the four catalysts obtained via the deconvolution procedure are in very good agreement with the values obtained via the classical one catalyst - one screening approach. Simulations provide a hint of the scope and limitations of the approach.