3D Printer for Small Molecules Means Customized Chemistry

A group of chemists, led by medical doctor Martin D. Burke at the University of Illinois, have taken a major step in the direction of creating a machine which can practically build anything, all on the molecular, and eventually atomic levels. They have built a machine that can only be described as a major breakthrough in the field of chemistry, a ‘molecule-making machine’. The machine, which was described in a paper featured in the current issue of Science, could best be described as a 3D printer for chemicals.

The machine works by breaking down very complex molecules into their basic chemical building blocks. The machine then reconnects these building blocks to create new chemical compounds. Using this process, the machine can utilize over 200 different building blocks along with thousands of other molecules to create billions of different organic compounds, many of which make up 14 classes of small molecules and some of which have never before been created by human beings.

Below is a video about the technology. Perhaps Star Trek's replicators will arrive several centuries ahead of schedule.