They can be produced medicines from solar energy, in a clean and ecological way? A group of Dutch scientists from Eindhoven University of Technology believes so, and has developed a device #artificial shaped #leaf which produces medicines right from the sun. The basic idea was born from the leaves able to feed themselves thanks to chlorophyll photosynthesis.
The researchers used materials that behave like leaves, capturing sunlight and storing it for later use. The materials used are called luminescent solar concentrators (LSC).
The technological leaf pumps the liquids inside the channels so that the molecules can come into contact with the absorbed sunlight: thus a chemical reaction is triggered. "Using a reactor like this means that it is possible - in principle - to produce drugs anywhere," says Dr. Timothy Noël “Like, for example, medicines against malaria in the jungle or paracetamol on Mars”.
Without reaching the extreme of Mars, surely this technology will be able to help those who have no other energy than the sun to produce medicines quickly.
