University of Glasgow’s Professor Lee Cronin and his team have conducted a study using a standard 3D printer in order to attain what they call reactionware.
The research team have added some chemical components in the main 3D printing foundation of polymer gel. By doing so they have reached an efficient way – both time and cost-wise – to produce custom laboratory scale compounds.
This breakthrough, though still in its early phase, could revolutionize the world of medicine and healthcare in general especially in the developing part of the globe.
In the long run the team foresees this method to be applied by regular consumers in the comfort of their own homes. By combining the technology with a suitable application software from e.g. Apple Store everybody could be able to have their own drugstore with an practically endless supply of relevant medicine.
The whole research paper, titled Integrated 3d-printed reactionware for chemical synthesis and analysis. can be found in Nature Chemistry.
(Source: University of Glasgow)
