Science Wonder: Scientists Formulate Sun-Powered Artificial Leaf for Drugs Manufacturing

Formulating and manufacturing life-saving ‘Drug’ is a matter of big factories and million dollars worth of instruments. But now, a group of researchers has developed a more convenient and easy way to manufacture medicines anytime and anywhere. Scientists from the Netherlands have invented a competent and powerful, yet simple method which can act as mini-factory of drugs anywhere there is sunshine. The researchers have invented a powerful and simple -Powered Artificial Leaf which can churn out drugs with the help of sunlight.

The concept of artificial leaves isn’t fresh, as previously scientists have already worked out this method. Artificial Leaf is a type of gadget which inactively transformed light into power for being utilized in various applications. Plants, naturally, use photosynthesis to put up their own decisive chemicals, which are much better than the imitations of the human. And to utilize these best imitations of plants, a group of scientists from Netherland have developed a sun-powered artificial leaf which can power drug manufacturing systems by converting sunlight into power.

The research led by Timothy Noël and his colleagues at the Eindhoven University of Technology have discovered a method to formulate power chemical reactions, in order to accumulate medical molecules. The specialists utilized a leaf-roused small-scale plant that imitates the effectiveness of nature at harvesting solar radiation. By using the method called luminescent solar concentrator, or LSC, the scientists were able to develop this ground-breaking process.

LSC’s are usually utilized for combining the solar cells for boosting up the yield. By using luminescent solar concentrators (LSC), the scientists were able to grasp the sunlight in a similar way. The special light-sensitive atoms existed in these materials hold a large quantity of the external light sourced from Sun which, they then converted into a particular color that is carried out to the edges using light conductivity.

By using this newly developed reactor, the production of drugs can easily be made in the near future. It can be produced in the Planet Mars as well as in Jungle, said the lead researcher, Timothy Noël.

The complete details of the study were published in the scholarly journal ‘Angewandte Chemie’ on 21st December 2016.