Graphic by Jenna
Luecke
(November 2, 2015) Researchers
at The University of Texas at Austin have developed a nanoscale machine made of
DNA that can randomly walk in any direction across bumpy surfaces. Future
applications of such a DNA walker might include a cancer detector that could
roam the human body searching for cancerous cells and tagging them for medical
imaging or drug targeting.
The study by researchers Cheulhee Jung, Peter B. Allen and
Andrew Ellington, published this week in the journal Nature Nanotechnology,
developed DNA machines that were able to walk, unprogrammed and in different
directions, over a DNA-coated surface. Previously, nanoparticle walkers were
only able to walk on precise and programmed one- and two-dimensional paths.
This walker was able to move 36 steps, and its movement in a random fashion is
different from movement seen in other studies.
“This is an important step forward in developing nanoscale
nucleic acid machines that can autonomously act under a variety of conditions,
including in the body,” said Ellington, professor in the Department of
Molecular Biosciences and member of the UT Center for Systems and Synthetic
Biology. “DNA nanotechnology is especially interesting because it explores the
world of ‘matter computers,’ where computations (including walking) are carried
out by physical objects, rather than by electronic or magnetic shuttles. DNA
walkers may eventually allow protective cells to walk the surface of organs,
constantly computing whether a cancer is present.”
More immediate practical applications may include deploying
the DNA walker in the body so that it can amplify signals from cancer cells to
make them more easily identified and targeted by doctors. There also may be
implications for future delivery of nanoscale therapeutics.