Skip to main content

Comunication at nanoscale

Two-way molecular communication, analogous to the chemical signalling used by plants and animals to control their bodies and communicate with other organisms, has been demonstrated between inorganic nanoparticles by researchers in Spain. The research is a step towards producing co-operative nanoparticles, which could be useful in multiple areas of science and medicine.
From the invention of the telegraph to Web 2.0, humans have communicated using electromagnetic waves. This can be problematic at the nanoscale, as the technology needed cannot be miniaturised below the wavelength and the power requirements are prohibitive. Nature cracked this problem billions of years ago: organisms can send messages to other parts of their bodies using hormones and other chemical messengers. Humans have produced simple synthetic versions of this kind of molecular logic for controlled drug release and other applications, but the sophisticated multi-way chemical communication seen in nature has not been seen.
Molecular diagram of how the nanoparticles communicate with each other
Source: Springer Nature
The two nanoparticles can communicate with each other using chemical messages
Ramón Martínez-Máñez and colleagues at the University of Valencia and Polytechnic University of Valencia, together with researchers at the Complutense University of Madrid, dispersed two types of nanoparticles, called S1gal and S2gox, in water. When lactose is added to the solution, an enzyme on S1gal hydrolyses it into galactose and glucose. The glucose is hydrolysed to gluconic acid by glucose oxidase on the S2gox. The resulting drop in pH opens a supramolecular nanovalve on S2gox, releasing N-acetyl-L-cysteine. This, in turn, ruptures disulfide linkages on S1gal, releasing a dye. Effectively, S1galsignals the presence of lactose to S2gox, which responds by signalling to S1gal to release the dye. ‘We are attempting to design more complex communication systems,’ says Martínez-Máñez. ‘We are also interested in coupling communication with movement. If nanoparticles can communicate they can behave co-operatively and mimic complex biological behaviors.’
Massimilano Pierobon of the University of Nebraska in the US agrees the paper is ‘very interesting’ and ‘can be the first brick to build up more complex systems’, although he says the idea that the system is a communication channel is ‘a bit of a stretch’ as the system cannot be reset and used to send further information. He also notes that ’many natural and programmable synthetic circuits have been demonstrated using DNA’. Sasitharan Balasubramaniam of the Waterford Institute of Technology in Ireland, however, sees a potential application in inorganic nano-robots. ‘To get them to communicate organically would be tough because the setup is all based on inorganic materials,’ he explains. ‘I can see the work could be integrated into these little nano-machines to allow them to communicate. It’s a very nice article.’

References

A Llopis-Lorente et al, Nat. Commun., 2017, 8, 15511 (DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15511)
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Linking hydrogen atom to silicon surface: A new way for greener, smaller and faster electronics

A key step in unlocking the potential for greener, faster, smaller electronic circuitry was taken recently by a group of researchers led by UAlberta physicist Robert Wolkow. The research team found a way to delete and replace out-of-place atoms that had been preventing new revolutionary circuitry designs from working. This unleashes a new kind of silicon chips for used in common electronic products, such as our phones and computers. "For the first time, we can unleash the powerful properties inherent to the atomic scale," explained Wolkow, noting that printing errors on silicon chips are inevitable when working at the atomic scale. "We were making things that were close to perfect but not quite there. Now that we have the ability to make corrections, we can ensure perfect patterns, and that makes the circuits work. It is this new ability to edit at the atom scale that makes all the difference." Think of a typing mistake and the ability to go back and white
Post a Comment
Read more

Nanophotodetectors with nanocavities to improve the performance of optoelectronic devices.

In today's increasingly powerful electronics, tiny materials are a must as manufacturers seek to increase performance without adding bulk. Smaller also is better for optoelectronic devices -- like camera sensors or solar cells -- which collect light and convert it to electrical energy. Think, for example, about reducing the size and weight of a series of solar panels, producing a higher-quality photo in low lighting conditions, or even transmitting data more quickly. However, two major challenges have stood in the way: First, shrinking the size of conventionally used "amorphous" thin-film materials also reduces their quality. And second, when ultrathin materials become too thin, they become almost transparent and actually lose some ability to gather or absorb light. Now, in a nanoscale photodetector that combines a unique fabrication method and light-trapping structures, a team of engineers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University at Buffalo ha
Post a Comment
Read more

Nanoimprinting accelerating the fabrication of nano-optical devices

Combining speed with incredible precision, a team of researchers has developed a way to print a nanoscale imaging probe onto the tip of a glass fiber as thin as a human hair, accelerating the production of the promising new device from several per month to several per day. The high-throughput fabrication technique opens the door for the widespread adoption of this and other nano-optical structures, which squeeze and manipulate light in ways that are unachievable by conventional optics. Nano-optics have the potential to be used for imaging, sensing, and spectroscopy, and could help scientists improve solar cells, design better drugs, and make faster semiconductors. A big obstacle to the technology's commercial use, however, is its time-consuming production process. The new fabrication method, called fiber nanoimprinting, could unplug this bottleneck. It was developed by scientists at the Molecular Foundry, located at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley Nat
Post a Comment
Read more