Digitization of multistep organic synthesis in reactionware for on-demand pharmaceuticals

Chemical manufacturing is often done at large facilities that require a sizable capital investment and then produce key compounds for a finite period. We present an approach to the manufacturing of fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals in a self-contained plastic reactionware device. The device was designed and constructed by using a chemical to computer-automated design (ChemCAD) approach that enables the translation of traditional bench-scale synthesis into a platform-independent digital code. This in turn guides production of a three-dimensional printed device that encloses the entire synthetic route internally via simple operations. We demonstrate the approach for the γ-aminobutyric acid receptor agonist, (±)-baclofen, establishing a concept that paves the way for the local manufacture of drugs outside of specialist facilities

Survey on Additive Manufacturing, Cloud 3D Printing and Services

Cloud Manufacturing (CM) is the concept of using manufacturing resources in a service oriented way over the Internet. Recent developments in Additive Manufacturing (AM) are making it possible to utilise resources ad-hoc as replacement for traditional manufacturing resources in case of spontaneous problems in the established manufacturing processes. In order to be of use in these scenarios the AM resources must adhere to a strict principle of transparency and service composition in adherence to the Cloud Computing (CC) paradigm. With this review we provide an overview over CM, AM and relevant domains as well as present the historical development of scientific research in these fields, starting from 2002. Part of this work is also a meta-review on the domain to further detail its development and structure

Knowledge Reuse for Customization: Metamodels in an Open Design Community for 3d Printing

Theories of knowledge reuse posit two distinct processes: reuse for replication and reuse for innovation. We identify another distinct process, reuse for customization. Reuse for customization is a process in which designers manipulate the parameters of metamodels to produce models that fulfill their personal needs. We test hypotheses about reuse for customization in Thingiverse, a community of designers that shares files for three-dimensional printing. 3D metamodels are reused more often than the 3D models they generate. The reuse of metamodels is amplified when the metamodels are created by designers with greater community experience. Metamodels make the community's design knowledge available for reuse for customization-or further extension of the metamodels, a kind of reuse for innovation

Additive manufacturing for drug delivery

Trabalho Final de Mestrado Integrado, Ciências Farmacêuticas, 2021, Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Farmácia.Produção aditiva ou impressão em três dimensões é um processo relativamente novo na área de saúde. Este é baseado na transformação de um modelo digital num objeto físico tridimensional. Esta tecnologia começou a ser explorada nos anos 60, mas a sua investigação na área dos cuidados de saúde só começou a ser explorada em 2008. Esta tecnologia tem ganho muita relevância desde que o primeiro medicamento impresso em 3D foi aprovado pela Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Desde aí, muitos investigadores têm estudado e desenvolvido novos produtos farmacêuticos produzidos a partir de impressão 3D. A implementação desta tecnologia em larga escala é muito promissora por poder trazer vantagens que com os medicamentos produzidos através das técnicas tradicionais não seriam possíveis. A capacidade de produzir um número reduzido de medicamentos a pedido e o facto de que fazer alterações nos medicamentos pode necessitar apenas de alterações a nível do seu design original e não da máquina, facilita o processo de fabricar diferentes produtos de acordo com as necessidades do utente. Desde dose personalizada a diferentes formas, cores e sabor, a produção aditiva pode tornar possível atingir uma medicação completamente individualizada. Os desafios que se enfrentam nesta tecnologia estão maioritariamente relacionados com problemas técnicos de fabrico, segurança e legislação. Para além destes fatores, a implementação desta tecnologia em larga escala levanta muitas questões e diferentes possibilidades que poderão criar grandes alterações no setor farmacêutico, tanto a nível de indústria como a nível do utente. Com o desenvolvimento de cada vez mais recente tecnologia e a interligação entre diferentes áreas, surge um leque de novas opções para investigar e desenvolver. O setor farmacêutico ainda tem imenso para desenvolver no que toca a impressão 3D, de forma a melhorar os cuidados de saúde e tornar os planos de medicação mais centrados no utente.Additive manufacturing (AM) or three-dimensional (3D) printing is a relatively new process in the healthcare field based on transforming a digital model into a 3D physical object. This technology began to be explored in the 1960’s but it’s research in the pharmaceutical sphere only started in 2008. This technology has gained a lot of popularity since the first 3D-printed product was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and more researchers have been studying and developing new pharmaceutical products manufactured with three-dimensional printing. The implementation of technology is very promising as it can bring advantages to the patient that traditionally manufactures drug products are not able to. The ability to produce a reduced number of drug delivery products on demand, and the fact that some changes only require changes on the original design and not on the physical machine make it easy to produce different products according to the patient’s needs. From personalized dosage to different shapes, color and flavor, additive manufacturing is making possible to achieve a fully customizable medication. The challenges presented by additive manufacturing in drug delivery forms are mainly concerned with manufacturing issues, safety, and regulation. In addition, the implementation of this technology on a bigger scale brings up a lot of questions and different possibilities that can create deep changes on the pharmaceutical field both in the industry and the patient side. With newer technology being developed and with the association between the healthcare and technology fields increasing, a range of novel interesting options to further research and implement in drug delivery forms rise. The pharmaceutical industry still has a lot to discover when it comes 3D printing, in order to improve general healthcare and make the medicine treatments more patient-centered

MakerMap

This report describes our efforts to enhance the student maker experience on the Worcester Polytechnic Institute campus. Throughout our research, we discovered a need for interdepartmental communication around availability of testing equipment and resources that expanded our user base to include on-campus researchers. As an outcome of our research, we developed and launched a sustainable website accessible to the WPI community to increase ease of access to the tools and resources available for research and making

MultiFab: a machine vision assisted platform for multi-material 3D printing

We have developed a multi-material 3D printing platform that is high-resolution, low-cost, and extensible. The key part of our platform is an integrated machine vision system. This system allows for self-calibration of printheads, 3D scanning, and a closed-feedback loop to enable print corrections. The integration of machine vision with 3D printing simplifies the overall platform design and enables new applications such as 3D printing over auxiliary parts. Furthermore, our platform dramatically expands the range of parts that can be 3D printed by simultaneously supporting up to 10 different materials that can interact optically and mechanically. The platform achieves a resolution of at least 40 μm by utilizing piezoelectric inkjet printheads adapted for 3D printing. The hardware is low cost (less than $7,000) since it is built exclusively from off-the-shelf components. The architecture is extensible and modular -- adding, removing, and exchanging printing modules can be done quickly. We provide a detailed analysis of the system's performance. We also demonstrate a variety of fabricated multi-material objects.National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant CCF-1138967)United States. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Grant N66001-12-1-4242

Internet of Infringing Things: The Effect of Computer Interface Copyrights on Technology Standards

You connect to the Internet via your Wi-Fi access point. You surf the Web using a browser and send emails through your email server. You probably use some USB peripherals-say a mouse, keyboard, or printer. Maybe you even watch cable or broadcast television. Under current case law, each of those computer systems and devices may very well be copyright-infringing contraband. This is through no fault of your own-you need not be pirating music or streaming illegal movies to infringe a copyright. The infringement simply exists, hard-wired within each of those devices and many more that you use, a result of the devices\u27 basic operations: connecting to Wi-Fi, displaying web pages, sending email, connecting peripherals, or receiving broadcasts

EvoBot: An Open-Source, Modular, Liquid Handling Robot for Scientific Experiments

Commercial liquid handling robots are rarely appropriate when tasks change often, which is the case in the early stages of biochemical research. In order to address it, we have developed EvoBot, a liquid handling robot, which is open-source and employs a modular design. The combination of an open-source and a modular design is particularly powerful because functionality is divided into modules with simple, well-defined interfaces, hence customisation of modules is possible without detailed knowledge of the entire system. Furthermore, the modular design allows end-users to only produce and assemble the modules that are relevant for their specific application. Hence, time and money are not wasted on functionality that is not needed. Finally, modules can easily be reused. In this paper, we describe the EvoBot modular design and through scientific experiments such as basic liquid handling, nurturing of microbial fuel cells, and droplet chemotaxis experiments document how functionality is increased one module at a time with a significant amount of reuse. In addition to providing wet-labs with an extendible, open-source liquid handling robot, we also think that modularity is a key concept that is likely to be useful in other robots developed for scientific purposes