I would like one bakers dozen of these please
The 'chemputer' that could print out any drug
- Thread starter Skeeef
- Start date
Life would be easy
In my eys Lee Cronin is a dream merchants. His dreams have the potential to self-confessed experts who will just leave you out of pocket.
Nevertheless, similar „machines“ exists at all, they produce so called „libraries of compounds“ of up to thousands of new compounds nearly simultaneously. For example 100 very promising starting materials react simultaneously with 100 very promising reactants and produce 10 000 new substances. These are screened in a second step in experimental screening, fluorescent dyes are used as marker molecules when searching through extensive libraries of compounds for potential active drug ingredients that possess a specific affinity to biologically relevant target proteins (e.g. enzymes or signal transmitters). You can find in literature, that this ways give poor results, but it may happen from time to time, that a really wonderful new substance will be found.
Nevertheless, similar „machines“ exists at all, they produce so called „libraries of compounds“ of up to thousands of new compounds nearly simultaneously. For example 100 very promising starting materials react simultaneously with 100 very promising reactants and produce 10 000 new substances. These are screened in a second step in experimental screening, fluorescent dyes are used as marker molecules when searching through extensive libraries of compounds for potential active drug ingredients that possess a specific affinity to biologically relevant target proteins (e.g. enzymes or signal transmitters). You can find in literature, that this ways give poor results, but it may happen from time to time, that a really wonderful new substance will be found.
Prick...
While a cool article, this guy is really presenting several ideas, not one, and none of it has the least bit to do with 3D printing in the context it's normally mentioned.
He mentions: surface catalysts, computer-controlled reaction conditions, and performing multiple reactions in a coordinated sequence.
These are all clever, but what's further presented is a devicification of said techniques: you try to turn them all into a programmable robot. But this isn't tinkering, it's anti-tinkering. It prevents, rather than facilitates, the creativity of the user. If I want to use an intermediate or a reaction that the machine doesn't do, I have to throw up my hands and start over. It's less efficient and less convenient than using simple devices that each accomplish a single task. Wiring a thermometer in a distillation column to a computer that controls a heater is clever. Trying to put it all in a box isn't clever, it's an extension of whatever ancient instinct causes humans to put things in boxes.
He mentions: surface catalysts, computer-controlled reaction conditions, and performing multiple reactions in a coordinated sequence.
These are all clever, but what's further presented is a devicification of said techniques: you try to turn them all into a programmable robot. But this isn't tinkering, it's anti-tinkering. It prevents, rather than facilitates, the creativity of the user. If I want to use an intermediate or a reaction that the machine doesn't do, I have to throw up my hands and start over. It's less efficient and less convenient than using simple devices that each accomplish a single task. Wiring a thermometer in a distillation column to a computer that controls a heater is clever. Trying to put it all in a box isn't clever, it's an extension of whatever ancient instinct causes humans to put things in boxes.
Yes, in the past people came up with ideas on how you could talk to someone from 100 miles away through a metal wire they called a telephone. Of course, there were 100s of people who came up with 100s of reasons to why that would never work, and yet, it now works.
I would avoid using the word never to describe a process as basic as molecular printing. Humans aspire to space exploration and such, but if you can't even print molecules, what can you do? Really? I haven't asked you to bloat out the sun with solar panels yet and transport it intergalactically as a giant fusion reactor so compared to that, how unfeasible is it? Saying it will never work sounds a little post-modern pessimistic.
Saying that you got no clue how that would work is ok. I don't either
But from there to saying it will never work is a long way. I mean, who are you to decide?
I would avoid using the word never to describe a process as basic as molecular printing. Humans aspire to space exploration and such, but if you can't even print molecules, what can you do? Really? I haven't asked you to bloat out the sun with solar panels yet and transport it intergalactically as a giant fusion reactor so compared to that, how unfeasible is it? Saying it will never work sounds a little post-modern pessimistic.
Saying that you got no clue how that would work is ok. I don't either
But from there to saying it will never work is a long way. I mean, who are you to decide?
I dont get it. How can a printer print drugs?
They can print a house lol...
story here
story here
The future is getting scary. Scary yet exciting!
Nice. I want a few of these printers...
I wish you could have a drug "scanner" where lets say I have five of my valium left for example... or x amount of a drug...
stick it in...
tada
copies are made... and you have more of the originally scanned drug flying out of the other end...
the clone wars... lol.
or a drug teleporter... so we don't have to make drug deals in public.. just "email" or "fax" that shit... then copy it and have infinite amounts of whatever drug you want....
fuck yeah.... imagine the possibilities... no more refills... no more withdrawal... no more issues... even if they were copies and not real drugs... rip other people off with fake cloned diazepam... or whatever drug...
i just want my diazepam... and friday dammit I get it...
thats why I chose valium as my example drug. lol.
I wish you could have a drug "scanner" where lets say I have five of my valium left for example... or x amount of a drug...
stick it in...
tada
copies are made... and you have more of the originally scanned drug flying out of the other end...
the clone wars... lol.
or a drug teleporter... so we don't have to make drug deals in public.. just "email" or "fax" that shit... then copy it and have infinite amounts of whatever drug you want....
fuck yeah.... imagine the possibilities... no more refills... no more withdrawal... no more issues... even if they were copies and not real drugs... rip other people off with fake cloned diazepam... or whatever drug...
i just want my diazepam... and friday dammit I get it...
thats why I chose valium as my example drug. lol.
XThexXTank;10816086 said:
it cannot. he's obviously (at least to anyone with an education in chemistry as far as i can tell) talking shit - most likely to get funding and/or media attention. that's not too unusual in acedemic circles.
i know a professor who sells legitimate research in cell death in microorganisms as "in the future we will stay young forever" to the media.
another one regularly "revolutionizes" our way of life by putting a chip into a random object (a pencil or a doormat or pretty much anything), which then proceeds to vibrate, blink or whatever when something special happens (most notable example: your true love, who miraculously happens to also have the chipped pencil, with her hobbies stored on this chip, walks by). as a friend of mine happend to work at that department, i know that none of these things actually worked and were given up at an early stage. but that's how you can get media attention and funding, so why not start the next nonsensical project?
i'm not saying that a "chemputer" is impossible far into the future, but it will certainly have nothing to do with the bullshit fram this article. why is this even on the frontpage?
Dang it I would really like some to fax me some dilaudid. Ohh and some pizza.
What is the final verdict of people with a background in chemistry/physics? Is this possible? If so, could you estimate how much time until we see something like this in use?
Next Wednesday.
dittoslimvictor;10762400 said:
This "chemputer" idea is still probably 10 years away, 3d printers are good at extruding polymers/metals but not so good at manipulating chemical bonds.
At best, today, you could use your 3d printer to make reaction vessels, or makeshift lab glassware, or whatever. But "printing drugs" is still quite infeasible.
At best, today, you could use your 3d printer to make reaction vessels, or makeshift lab glassware, or whatever. But "printing drugs" is still quite infeasible.
^
I'd say it's more then 10 years away. As I was saying earlier in the thread, electrons and atomic nuclei do not behave like baseballs or even like tiny drops of ink. The difference between classical and quantum mechanics make the concept of "printing" molecules by spraying around atoms in a manner analogous to droplets of ink seem meaningless imo.
I'd say it's more then 10 years away. As I was saying earlier in the thread, electrons and atomic nuclei do not behave like baseballs or even like tiny drops of ink. The difference between classical and quantum mechanics make the concept of "printing" molecules by spraying around atoms in a manner analogous to droplets of ink seem meaningless imo.
