The problem with nanodevices is they are really hard to put together, since they are, well, tiny. That's why a team of researchers at Harvard created nanodevices made of DNA that can assemble themselves and be programmed to move and change shape on demand.
Most existing nanotechnologies are not suited for medical applications. Nanotechnology is more often been used to generate electricity for portable electronic devices and make an unbreakable screen for your smart phone, not to put inside the body. But these programmable nanodevices are a good fit for medical applications, because DNA is biocompatible and biodegradable.
Each nanodevice is built at the scale of one-billionth of a meter. It's made with a single-stranded DNA molecule that mixes together with many short pieces of complementary DNA and self-assembles into a predetermined, three-dimensional structure.
An explanation from the Harvard website sums it up nicely.
Double helices fold up into larger, rigid linear struts that connect by intervening single-stranded DNA. These single strands of DNA pull the struts up into a 3D form—much like tethers pull tent poles up to form a tent. The structure’s strength and stability result from the way it distributes and balances the counteracting forces of tension and compression.Don Ingber worked on this project with other researchers from the Wyss Institute at Harvard. In a press release, he says this technology could lead to nanoscale medical devices and drug delivery systems, such as virus mimics that introduce drugs directly into diseased cells.
A nanodevice that can spring open in response to a chemical or mechanical signal could serve as as drug delivery mechanism, causing drugs to arrive at an intended target and released when desired.
Researchers have pinned a lot of hopes onto this tiny devices. They believe nanoscopic tensegrity devices could one day reprogram human stem cells to regenerate injured organs. The idea that we can rebuild organs is called tissue engineering.
There have been quite a few advancements in this area recently, but this new capability to self-assemble “is a welcome element in the structural DNA nanotechnology toolbox,” says Ned Seeman, professor of chemistry at New York University.
Images: Tim Liedl/Nature Nanotechnology
Tags: Biotechnology, DNA, Modern Medicine, Nanotech
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