Scientists Employing 'Chemputers' in Efforts to Digitize Chemistry

A "chemputer" is a robotic method of producing drug molecules that uses downloadable blueprints to synthesize organic chemicals via programming. Originated in the University of Glasgow lab of chemist Lee Cronin, the method has produced several blueprints available on the GitHub software repository, including blueprints for Remdesivir, the FDA-approved drug for antiviral treatment of COVID-19. Cronin, who designed the "bird's nest" of tubing, pumps, and flasks that make up the chemputer, spent years thinking of a way researchers could distribute and produce molecules as easily as they email and print PDFs, according to a recent account from CNBC. "If we have a standard way of discovering molecules, making molecules, and then manufacturing them, suddenly nothing goes out of print," Cronin stated. Beyond creating the chemputer, Cronin's team recently took a second major step towards digitizing chemistry with an accessible way to program the machine.