Prepare the cage for the experience…
Living cells were mixed from the inside
Kirill Stasevich, Compulenta
Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania (USA) managed to put it in a living cell... nanomixer and mix everything in it. In this case, a stirrer should be understood not as some kind of complex device, but as a simple metal nanoparticle, the movement of which is controlled by an external electromagnetic field.
Ruthenium-gold nanoparticles in a living HeLa cell (photo by Mallouk lab / Penn State University).
Such particles, which are also called nanomotors, were invented 10 years ago, but in the very first "models" the movement depended on a chemical reaction, and it was impossible to combine them with any living cell. But then scientists discovered that ultrasound can make nanoparticles move, and at such frequencies that will leave the cells intact.
Nanorods consisting of ruthenium and gold were injected into HeLa cells, after which the nanomixer was driven inside the cell using ultrasound. By increasing the power of ultrasound, it was possible to ensure that the insides of the cell were completely homogenized.
However, with the help of ultrasound, the nanorods could either be pushed in one direction, or forced to spin in place. But the magnetic field made it possible to control the particles more precisely, with a more predictable result. With their help, you can, for example, destroy some intracellular complex of molecules, some organelle, and see how the cell reacts to such stress. In the future, it will be possible to carry out something like intracellular operations, but for this you will have to learn how to control such nanoparticles with precision accuracy.
In the meantime, the authors of the work say that their intracellular nanomixers-nanomotors can be used to fight cancer. A portion of such particles can literally turn cancer cells into mincemeat: the main thing is that their effect does not extend to healthy cells.
Prepared based on the materials of the University of Pennsylvania: Nanomotors are controlled, for the first time, inside living cells.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru12.02.2014