diff --git a/Gemfile.lock b/Gemfile.lock
index d89e5183..e46dfc6b 100644
--- a/Gemfile.lock
+++ b/Gemfile.lock
@@ -41,8 +41,6 @@ GEM
       rails (~> 3.1)
     builder (3.0.4)
     cancan (1.6.10)
-    celluloid (0.15.2)
-      timers (~> 1.1.0)
     climate_control (0.0.3)
       activesupport (>= 3.0)
     cocaine (0.5.4)
@@ -54,7 +52,6 @@ GEM
       coffee-script-source
       execjs
     coffee-script-source (1.8.0)
-    connection_pool (2.0.0)
     devise (3.4.0)
       bcrypt (~> 3.0)
       orm_adapter (~> 0.1)
@@ -100,13 +97,10 @@ GEM
       mime-types
     pg (0.17.1)
     pg (0.17.1-x86-mingw32)
-    phantomjs (1.9.7.1)
     polyglot (0.3.5)
     rack (1.4.5)
     rack-cache (1.2)
       rack (>= 0.4)
-    rack-protection (1.5.3)
-      rack
     rack-ssl (1.3.4)
       rack
     rack-test (0.6.2)
@@ -132,8 +126,6 @@ GEM
     rdoc (3.12.2)
       json (~> 1.4)
     redis (3.1.0)
-    redis-namespace (1.5.1)
-      redis (~> 3.0, >= 3.0.4)
     responders (1.1.1)
       railties (>= 3.2, < 4.2)
     sass (3.4.5)
@@ -141,29 +133,14 @@ GEM
       railties (~> 3.2.0)
       sass (>= 3.1.10)
       tilt (~> 1.3)
-    sidekiq (3.2.5)
-      celluloid (= 0.15.2)
-      connection_pool (>= 2.0.0)
-      json
-      redis (>= 3.0.6)
-      redis-namespace (>= 1.3.1)
-    sinatra (1.4.5)
-      rack (~> 1.4)
-      rack-protection (~> 1.4)
-      tilt (~> 1.3, >= 1.3.4)
-    slim (2.0.3)
-      temple (~> 0.6.6)
-      tilt (>= 1.3.3, < 2.1)
     sprockets (2.2.2)
       hike (~> 1.2)
       multi_json (~> 1.0)
       rack (~> 1.0)
       tilt (~> 1.1, != 1.3.0)
-    temple (0.6.8)
     thor (0.19.1)
     thread_safe (0.3.4)
     tilt (1.4.1)
-    timers (1.1.0)
     treetop (1.4.15)
       polyglot
       polyglot (>= 0.3.1)
@@ -196,13 +173,9 @@ DEPENDENCIES
   kaminari
   paperclip
   pg
-  phantomjs
   rails (= 3.2.17)
   rails3-jquery-autocomplete
   redis
   sass-rails
-  sidekiq
-  sinatra
-  slim
   uglifier (>= 1.0.3)
   uservoice-ruby
diff --git a/app/controllers/main_controller.rb b/app/controllers/main_controller.rb
index 873c3835..177c7f13 100644
--- a/app/controllers/main_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/main_controller.rb
@@ -194,8 +194,23 @@ class MainController < ApplicationController
     topic2id = params[:topic2id]
     
     if term && !term.empty?
-      @synapses = Synapse.select('DISTINCT "desc"').
-        where('LOWER("desc") like ?', '%' + term.downcase + '%').limit(5).order('"desc"')
+      @synapses = Synapse.select('DISTINCT "desc"').where('LOWER("desc") like ?', '%' + term.downcase + '%').order('"desc"')
+
+      # remove any duplicate synapse types that just differ by 
+      # leading or trailing whitespaces
+      collectedDesc = []
+      @synapses.delete_if {|s|
+        desc = s.desc == nil || s.desc == "" ? "" : s.desc.strip
+        if collectedDesc.index(desc) == nil
+          collectedDesc.push(desc)
+          boolean = false
+        else
+          boolean = true
+        end
+      }
+
+      #limit to 5 results
+      @synapses = @synapses.slice(0,5)
 
       render json: autocomplete_synapse_generic_json(@synapses)
       
diff --git a/config/initializers/sidekiq.rb b/config/initializers/sidekiq.rb
deleted file mode 100644
index 6a2d1b9c..00000000
--- a/config/initializers/sidekiq.rb
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,9 +0,0 @@
-redis_url = Rails.env.development? ? 'redis://localhost:6379/0' : ENV['REDISTOGO_URL']
-
-Sidekiq.configure_server do |config|
-  config.redis = { :url => redis_url, :namespace => 'metamaps' }
-end
-
-Sidekiq.configure_client do |config|
-  config.redis = { :url => redis_url, :namespace => 'metamaps' }
-end
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/config/routes.rb b/config/routes.rb
index f5ad183f..33532701 100644
--- a/config/routes.rb
+++ b/config/routes.rb
@@ -1,11 +1,6 @@
-require 'sidekiq/web'
-
 Metamaps::Application.routes.draw do
 
   root to: 'main#home', via: :get
-
-  #To debug sidekiq and monitor processes, enable this route
-  #mount Sidekiq::Web, at: '/sidekiq'
   
   match 'request', to: 'main#requestinvite', via: :get, as: :request