Communications of the ACM
'Chemputer' Promises App-Controlled Revolution for Drug Production
Researchers at the University of Glasgow in the U.K. have developed a "chemputer" produce drug molecules.
Credit: Cronin Group, School of Chemistry, University of Glasgow
Researchers at the University of Glasgow in the U.K. developed a new technique for producing drug molecules, using downloadable blueprints to easily and reliably synthesize organic chemicals via a programmable computer.
The team said the "chemputer" features a universal and interoperable standard for writing and sharing chemical recipes based on a general abstraction for chemistry.
Running those recipes on a "chempiler" program instructs the system on how to generate molecules on-demand, and more affordably and safely than previously possible.
The chemputer draws raw chemical materials in liquid form into and out of an array of modules—a reaction module, a jacketed filtration module capable of being heated or cooled, an automated liquid-liquid separation module, and a solvent evaporation module—to perform the operations required to complete synthesis.
Said Glasgow's Lee Cronin, "This approach is a key step in the digitization of chemistry, and will allow the universal assembly of complex molecules on demand."
From University of Glasgow (U.K.)
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