How do you take something very complex and make it as simple as possible? That is the question that chemistry professor and medical doctor Martin D. Burke and researchers at the University of Illinois sought to answer.

Their proposed answer was to break down complex molecules into simple building blocks that can be assembled into more complex structures. Think of it as something similar to object oriented programming or, maybe even legos.

The result of their work is, essentially a 3-D printer that can work at the molecular level to assemble complex small molecules at the click of a mouse.

Because most modern medicines are made from complex small molecules, the process has the potential to sharply speed up the development of new drugs as well a other areas of chemical technology.

“We wanted to take a very complex process, chemical synthesis, and make it simple. Simplicity enables automation, which, in turn, can broadly enable discovery and bring the substantial power of making molecules to nonspecialists,” said Burke in a statement.

In addition to their use in medicine, “small molecules” are important in technologies such as LEDs and solar cells, as well as biology where they are used as “probes” to study the inner functions of cells.

Using traditional methods however the development and testing of a small molecule can take years.

“Up to now, the bottleneck has been synthesis. There are many areas where progress is being slowed, and many molecules that pharmaceutical companies aren’t even working on, because the barrier to synthesis is so high,” said Burke.

The new automated system created by Burke’s group uses a “catch and release” method. It follows the provided instructions and adds one block at a time, washing away any excess before adding the next block.

According to the team, to date their machine has demonstrated an ability to create 14 different classes of small molecules, some of which are considered difficult to manufacture, using a building block process.

“Dr. Burke’s research has yielded a significant advance that helps make complex small molecule synthesis more efficient, flexible and accessible. It is exciting to think about the impact that continued advances in these directions will have on synthetic chemistry and life science research,” said Miles Fabian of the National Institutes of Health.

REVOLUTION Medicines, Inc., a company co-founded by Burke is currently using the technology. Their initial focus in on anti-fungalmedications.

“It is expected that the technology will similarly create new opportunities in other therapeutic areas as well, as the industrialization of the technology will help refine and broaden its scope and scalability. Perhaps most exciting, this work has opened up an actionable roadmap to a general and automated way to make most small molecules. If that goal can be realized, it will help shift the bottleneck from synthesis to function and bring the power of making small molecules to nonspecialists,” said Burke.

A video of Burke describing the technology is on YouTube. A more complete description of the process can be found in the March 13 edition of the journal Science.