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Here is the Pac Man cell, imitate the living ones VIDEO

2021-09-12T16:21:19.476Z


It is capable of incorporating nutrient molecules or harmful substances, imprisoning them inside and then freeing them: it is the first synthetic cell that imitates one of the fundamental processes of living cells and in the future it could help purify water and soils by swallowing harmful substances, or turn into a tiny cargo to administer drugs (ANSA)


It is capable of incorporating nutrient molecules or harmful substances, imprisoning them inside and then freeing them: it is the first synthetic cell that imitates one of the fundamental processes of living cells and in the future it could help purify water and soils by swallowing harmful substances, or turn into a tiny cargo for administering drugs. "You can think of these cells as tiny Pac-Man" from the videogame of the 1980s, says Stefano Sacanna, the Italian researcher originally from Rimini and who has been working in the United States for some time. He is the first author of the research, published in the journal Nature and conducted in the Chemistry department of New York University led by Zhe Xu. "They go around eating pollutants, removing them from the environment," adds the researcher,that already looks at the possible applications.





The result is an absolute scientific first because it is the achievement of a goal that seemed impossible and also marks the most recent milestone along the road opened over twenty years ago by synthetic biology. The new cell, made of synthetic materials, mimics one of the main functions of cells, namely active transport, which is the mechanism by which cells transfer molecules essential for survival and energy, such as glucose and amino acids, from the outside to their inside. from the inside to the outside the waste products. "Our experiment allows artificial mimic cells to operate autonomously, performing the active transport that has hitherto been a prerogative of living cells," says Sacanna.





Obtained in collaboration with the University of Chicago, the Pac Man cell is the size of a red blood cell and is wrapped in a membrane made of a polymer. On the latter, the researchers made a tiny hole, mimicking the channels that cross the membrane of living cells, allowing them to incorporate nutrients and expel waste. The natural engine that makes these functions possible in the cells are the energy centers called mitochondria; in the mimic cell this function is performed by a tiny pump located inside the nano-channel that crosses the membrane and is activated with light. When activated or deactivated, the pump moves a tiny cargo carrying molecules in or out into the channel.



In a first experiment the cell was suspended in water and started ingesting impurities as soon as it was activated with light, showing that these synthetic cells could become like tiny scavengers for water purification.In the second experiment the synthetic cells swallowed bacteria of the type Escherichia coli after having trapped them in their membrane: a demonstration that suggests the possibility of turning them into weapons against bacterial infections inside the human body.



Their ability to release previously loaded substances outside their membrane suggests that in the future synthetic cells can be used to deliver drugs directly into the organs and tissues where they are needed. Research goes on and new mime cells are being studied in the laboratory of the Department of Chemistry at New York University, capable of performing different tasks and communicating with each other.

Source: ansa

All tech articles on 2021-09-12

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