DNA switch developed to interface living organisms with computers

Researchers at the University of Portsmouth have developed an
electronic switch based on DNA - a world-first bio-nanotechnology
breakthrough that provides the foundation for the interface between
living organisms and the computer world....

The new technology is called a 'nanoactuator' (shown in the image
above) or a molecular dynamo. The device is invisible to the naked
eye - about one thousandth of a strand of human hair.

The DNA switch has been developed by British Molecular Biotechnology
expert Dr Keith Firman at the University of Portsmouth working in
collaboration with other European researchers.

Dr Firman and his international team have been awarded a €2 million
(£1.36m) European Commission grant under its New and Emerging Science
and Technology (NEST) initiative to further develop this ground-
breaking new technology.

But the DNA switch has immediate practical applications in toxin
detection, and could be used in a biodefence role as a biological
sensor to detect airborne pathogens.

The future applications are also considerable, including molecular
scale mechanical devices for interfacing to computer-controlled
artificial limbs.

'The possibilities are very exciting. The nanoactuator we have
developed can be used as a communicator between the biological and
silicon worlds,' Dr Firman said.

'I could see it providing an interface between muscle and external
devices, but it has to be pointed out that such an application is
still 20 or 30 years away.'

The molecular switch comprises of a strand of DNA anchored in a
miniscule channel of a microchip, a magnetic bead, and a biological
motor powered by the naturally occurring energy source found in
living cells, adenosine triphosphate (ATP).

These elements working together create a dynamo effect which in turn
generates electricity. The result is a device that emits electrical
signals - signals that can be sent to a computer. The switch,
therefore, links the biological world with the silicon world of
electronic signals.

The nanoactuator has been patented by the University of Portsmouth,
and a patent application for the basic concepts of biosensing is
pending.

Notes:

The nanoactuator project is part of a multinational collaboration
between the University of Portsmouth, The National Physical
Laboratory (UK), TU Delft (The Netherlands), CNRS/ENS (France), INESC-
Portugal, EMPA (Switzerland) and IMIC (Czech Republic).

Nanotechnology is the science and technology of building electronic
circuits and devices from single atoms and molecules. It is the
branch of engineering that deals with things smaller than 100
nanometers. A nanometer is about 10,000 times smaller than the width
of a human hair; an ant is several millions of nanometers in length.
Dr Keith Firman's work represents a fusion of molecular biology with
nanotechnology - bio-nanotechnology.

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