The Magneto-Ultrasonic Nanomotor
Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2014 3:52 pmA nanomotor is a molecular or nanoscale device capable of converting energy into movement.
A team of chemists and engineers led by Thomas E. Mallouk, a “Evan Pugh” * Professor of Materials Chemistry and Physics at Penn State University, have - for the first time - placed tiny synthetic motors inside live human cells, propelled by ultrasonic waves and steered magnetically.
The researchers' findings were published in the “Angewandte Chemie International Edition” on 10 February 2014.
"Our first-generation motors required toxic fuels and they would not move in biological fluid, so we couldn't study them in human cells," Mallouk said.
But Mallouk and French physicist Mauricio Hoyos have discovered that nanomotors could be powered by ultrasonic waves, which then opened the door to studying the motors in living systems.
So, to clarify :
- For the first time – ever - working tiny synthetic motors were put inside live human cells.
- The key to making them work in living cells was to power them with ultrasonic waves instead of toxic fuels.
- These ultrasound pulses are used to control the nanomotors spin around or to move them forward, and magnetic forces are then used to control the motors even further by steering them.
“The nanomotors move around within a single cell tissue. At low ultrasonic power”, Mallouk explained, “the nanomotors have little effect on the cells. But when the power is increased, the nanomotors spring into action.”
"As these nanomotors move around and bump into structures inside the cells, the live cells show internal mechanical responses that no one has seen before," professor Tom Mallouk said.
Oh, yes …
For their cell experiments with this Magneto-Ultrasonic Nanomotor** ?
They used HeLa cells.
And killed them.
But that’s not the point, is it ?
Announcement here : http://science.psu.edu/news-and-events/ ... louk2-2014
* Since 1960, only sixty-five professors have earned the title of “Evan Pugh Professor”. Chosen for the honor because he or she "has displayed the courage to pioneer in his or her field, the discipline to remain at the forefront of research, and the generosity of spirit to share these accomplishments with students" . These professors are humanists as well as scientists.
** I coined that name. They call it “Acoustic Propulsion of Nanorod Motors”.
A team of chemists and engineers led by Thomas E. Mallouk, a “Evan Pugh” * Professor of Materials Chemistry and Physics at Penn State University, have - for the first time - placed tiny synthetic motors inside live human cells, propelled by ultrasonic waves and steered magnetically.
The researchers' findings were published in the “Angewandte Chemie International Edition” on 10 February 2014.
"Our first-generation motors required toxic fuels and they would not move in biological fluid, so we couldn't study them in human cells," Mallouk said.
But Mallouk and French physicist Mauricio Hoyos have discovered that nanomotors could be powered by ultrasonic waves, which then opened the door to studying the motors in living systems.
So, to clarify :
- For the first time – ever - working tiny synthetic motors were put inside live human cells.
- The key to making them work in living cells was to power them with ultrasonic waves instead of toxic fuels.
- These ultrasound pulses are used to control the nanomotors spin around or to move them forward, and magnetic forces are then used to control the motors even further by steering them.
“The nanomotors move around within a single cell tissue. At low ultrasonic power”, Mallouk explained, “the nanomotors have little effect on the cells. But when the power is increased, the nanomotors spring into action.”
"As these nanomotors move around and bump into structures inside the cells, the live cells show internal mechanical responses that no one has seen before," professor Tom Mallouk said.
Oh, yes …
For their cell experiments with this Magneto-Ultrasonic Nanomotor** ?
They used HeLa cells.
And killed them.
But that’s not the point, is it ?
Announcement here : http://science.psu.edu/news-and-events/ ... louk2-2014
* Since 1960, only sixty-five professors have earned the title of “Evan Pugh Professor”. Chosen for the honor because he or she "has displayed the courage to pioneer in his or her field, the discipline to remain at the forefront of research, and the generosity of spirit to share these accomplishments with students" . These professors are humanists as well as scientists.
** I coined that name. They call it “Acoustic Propulsion of Nanorod Motors”.