AÑO
2017
CATEGORÍA
Trabajo
OBJETIVOS
Salud y bienestar
PAL. CLAVE
healthcare, medicine, production
PAÍS
Netherlands
CRÉDITOS
Dr. Timothy Noël and the team from Eindhoven University of Technology
LINK
https://www.tue.nl/en/university/news-and-press/news/21-12-2016-artificial-leaf-as-mini-factory-for-medicine/
Artificial leaf for drug production
an artificial leaf that can act as a mini-factory for producing drugs
Dutch scientists have developed an artificial leaf that can act as a mini-factory for producing drugs, an advance that could allow medicines to be produced anywhere there is sunlight. The work taps into the ability of plants to use sunlight to feed themselves through photosynthesis, something industrial chemists have struggled to replicate because sunshine usually generates too little energy to fuel chemical reactions. The leaf-inspired micro factory mimics nature's efficiency at harvesting solar radiation by using new materials called luminescent solar concentrators with very thin channels through which liquid is pumped, exposing molecules to sunlight. The device, made from silicone rubber, can operate even when there is diffuse light, which means it will work under cloudy skies.