"Producing hard-to-get organic chemicals is now as simple as assembling Ikea furniture, according to a group of chemists at the University of Glasgow. The team’s latest adventure into 3D-printed reactionware spawned small modules that slot together to do 12 process steps. Team leader Lee Cronin foresees organic chemists developing modules that enable non-specialists to easily make substances experts might now have to slave away at to synthesise. ‘The chemist now becomes a digital designer,’ Cronin tells Chemistry World."

"‘I’ve been challenged by people who say “It’s much harder to do organic chemistry,”’ Cronin says."

"Thus provoked, the Glasgow team conceived digital blueprints that capture synthesis steps in a standard format, ‘like an MP3 for music’, Cronin says. "

Ça arrive, patience.

https://www.chemistryworl[...]chemistry/3008542.article