Researchers from the Johns Hopkins University, who are only a million micro tubes as a single human (Nanopipes: Two million times smaller than an ant) waste, have developed a way to ensure that these smaller pipes are safe with smaller losses.
Defeat the pipes made up of Nanopipes that connect, connect the car –on cession and connect with various bio structures, the dwarf tube is an important step towards the creation of a special network for targeted cells in the human body one day can distribute drugs , proteins and molecules. Highly accurate measurements are described today in Science Advances.
Rebecca Schulman, a collaborator, said: “This study strongly suggests that it is possible to make nanotubes that don’t leak using these simple self-assembly techniques, where we mix the molecules into a solution and just hold them.” We build the structure you want. ”Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Johns Hopkins University who co-directed the research. “In our case we can also attach these tubes to different end points to do something like sanitary.”
The team worked with about seven nanometers in diameter with nanopipes – two million times smaller than an ant and several micron long, or dust particle length.
This method is made on an established technique that reproduces DNA parts in the form of building blocks, which consist of the development and repair of tubes to enable them to connect to specific structures. Previous studies have developed similar structures called nanopores. These designs focus on the ability of DNA nanocavities to control the transport of molecules through lab-produced lipid membranes that mimic cell membranes.
But if nanotubes are like pipes, nanopores are like tiny pipe fittings that cannot reach other pipes, tanks or equipment on their own. Schulman’s team specializes in bio-inspired nanotechnology to address these types of problems.
“By creating long tubes outside the pore, molecules can not only pass through the pore in the compartment or membrane that transports them into the cell, but also where they go after leaving the cell.” We have been able to create tubes with much longer pores than previously created tubes, bringing the transport of molecules along nanotube “highways” closer to reality.
Nanotubes are formed using DNA strands woven between different double helices. Their structure has small gaps in the texture. Because of their very small dimensions, the scientists were unable to test whether the tubes could transport molecules over long distances without leaking, or whether molecules could slip through gaps in the wall.
Yi Li, Ph.D. in chemistry and biomolecular engineering at Johns Hopkins, who led the study, did the nanoscale work of closing the ends of pipes and opening faucets to prevent water leakage. Yi covered the end of the tube with a special DNA “cap” and passed a solution of fluorescent molecules through the tube to track the rate of entry and leakage.
By accurately measuring the shape of the tubes, how their biomolecules attach to specific nanopores, and how fast the fluorescent solution flows, the team showed how the tubes moved molecules around in tiny membrane-like pockets. Luminous particles such as water slid down the slide.
“Now we can call it a piping system because we use these channels to direct the flow of certain substances or molecules over much greater distances,” Li said. Another DNA construct that binds very specifically to this channel to facilitate this transport to stop by acting as a valve or plug.”
DNA nanotubes could help scientists better understand how neurons interact with each other. Researchers can also use it to study diseases like cancer and the function of more than 200 types of cells in the body.
Next, the team will conduct further research on artificial and real cells and different types of molecules.
The authors included Johns Hopkins University Professor of Physics and Astronomy Brice Maynard, Himanshu Joshi and Alexei Aksmentiv of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
