The application and development of micro-robots in the medical field continues to keep pace with the times. In “Nature-Communications” (Nature communications) in the last article of the magazine,MIT(MIT) has demonstrated for the first time a tiny antenna capable of operating wirelessly inside living cells. As cells are the foundation of biological systems, the team believes that the acquisition of information at the cellular level will provide new insights into basic biology and disease treatment.
Small antenna that can work wirelessly inside living cells
The size of general bioelectronic interfaces is usually between a few millimeters and a few centimeters.Considering that even a single cellular change can affect the whole organism, the application in the human body is not only highly invasive, but does not even provide the necessary wireless interaction with a single cell resolution.
In contrast, the new Cell Rover micro-antenna developed by the MIT team is much smaller than cells, with a size of only sub-mm (sub-mm) .In the team’s research on oocyte cells, Cell Rover takes up less than 0.05% of the cell volume, far below the size that could affect or damage cells.
Cell Rover’s specialty doesn’t stop there. Using magnetostrictive (magnetostrictive) materials, the Cell Rover can be acoustically operated by an AC magnetic field, operating in resonance at low MHz frequencies without generating negative thermal effects on living organisms. The research team even developed a protocol that uses a non-uniform magnetic field to guide the Cell Rover into cells.
Instead of destroying cells to examine cytoplasm in the past, Cell Rover can monitor cell development or division within the cell, detect different chemicals and biomolecules or physical changes, operate wirelessly in living cells and compatible with systems biological 3D. Explore the potential to monitor and even drive cellular activity in real time.
Cell Rover monitors changes without destroying cells
From the research point of view, even within a single cell, it is possible to use multiple Cell Rovers to communicate with each other or with extracellular communication. Researchers believe that with such capabilities, Cell Rovers could be invaluable in cancer and neurodegenerative disease research. Scientists can monitor biochemical and electrical changes in individual cells to observe disease-associated progression or to discover new drugs through the response of living cells to different drugs.
Materials such as polymers, which undergo changes in mass or stress such as chemical or biomolecular changes, believe that scientists can use polymeric materials already used in medical and other research to integrate with Cell Rover applications to gain new insights not available from current observation techniques involving cell destruction.
MIT Dean Anantha P. Chandrakasan said, “Cell Rover is an innovative concept because it can incorporate intelligent sensing and communication technology into living cells, providing unprecedented opportunities for highly accurate diagnosis, treatment and drug development. as well as cross-border biological cooperation with IT technology creates new directions.
Extended reading: micro-robots are sent or become a new tool for treating bacterial pneumonia!
References:
- Communications on nature, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-32862-4
- https://news.mit.edu/2022/cell-rover-exploring-augmenting-inner-world-cell-0922
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