SpaceExpander: An Automated System for Drafting Markush Claims to Expand Chemical Space

Drafting chemical compound patents, particularly those involving Markush structures, is a complex task often hindered by manual workflows that are time-consuming and error-prone and may result in incomplete protection. To address these challenges, we introduce SpaceExpander, an open-source tool designed to automate the generation of Markush patent claims with improved accuracy and efficiency. The tool systematically extracts molecular scaffolds, identifies R-groups, and constructs comprehensive Markush structures to expand patent coverage. To enhance accessibility and usability, we provide a publicly available web server for online usage, along with standalone executables compatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux to support offline access.