DNA Pipelines
Scientists have learned how to create tiny "pipelines" a million times thinner than a human hair
Researchers from Johns Hopkins University have developed a technology for creating microscopic pipelines, the thickness of which is one millionth of the thickness of a human hair. Moreover, they have developed a method of reliable connection of these pipelines, which allows to prevent even the most insignificant leaks from them. Pipelines are built from self-assembling and self-healing nanotubes that can be connected to various organic and biological structures, which will allow in the future to create entire networks for the transportation of specialized drugs, proteins and molecules to these cells of the human body.
The nanotubes that underlie the pipelines have a length of several microns, which corresponds to the size of a fine dust particle, and a diameter of seven nanometers, which is about two million times smaller than the size of an ant. These nanotubes are created from fragments of synthetic DNA with a given structure, which are able to connect along the length with other similar fragments having the appropriate structure.
Grown long nanotubes perfectly fit with the so-called nanopores, elements also created from DNA fragments that are embedded in the cell membrane and provide direct access to the intracellular environment. Moreover, using the same elements, it is possible to connect long nanotubes into even longer chains and form something resembling an extensive plumbing wiring in a residential building.
After creating a technology for the synthesis of long nanotubes from DNA, scientists wondered whether water molecules or other substances are capable of seeping through their walls and joints? To test this, scientists took a long chain of nanotubes and created a DNA plug at its end, which can be regulated by external influence, a kind of nanoscale analog of a water tap. Also, additional elements were created from DNA, which are analogs of shut-off valves, which made it possible to direct the flow of solution along various paths of an extensive network of pipelines. A solution of fluorescent molecules was fed inside the pipeline, with the help of which it was supposed to track all leaks.
Using nanosampling technology, the researchers observed how the luminous solution moved through nanotubes and filled special bags grown from tissue resembling a cell membrane. At the same time, even with the use of a fairly complex pipeline network, not a single fluorescent molecule managed to get outside, into the external environment.
And in conclusion, we note that such networks of DNA pipelines will allow scientists to conduct new experiments with neurons, which will provide a better understanding of their interactions. Also, all this can be used to study various diseases and their effect on the functions of 200 types of cells in the human body. And in the near future, scientists plan to begin the first experiments with connecting DNA pipelines first to synthetic, and then to real living cells.
Article by Li et al. Leakless end-to-end transport of small molecules through micron-length DNA nanochannels published in the journal Science Advances – VM.
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