Inspired by the white blood cells of the human immune system, researcher from the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University have developed a nanorobot made of DNA, which has the potential to target specific cells and trigger responses by delivering molecular instructions. They have reported their findings in Science. The discovery holds great potential for the future, as new types of targeted therapies can be developed using these nanobots.
Shawn Douglas and Ido Bachelet managed to create the miniscule robot using the DNA origami method, which enables to construct complex 3D shapes by folding DNA strands. The nanorobot is basically a DNA barrel, which acts as a container for molecules. The DNA barrel is held shut by special DNA latches, which recognize certain combinations of cell-surface proteins. If it finds its target, the barrel is opened and the content is exposed to the specific target. By using antibody fragments as the contents of the barrel, Douglas and Bachelet were able to make two different types of cancer cells self-destruct.
The video down below will explain it all for you:
Harvard announcement: Researchers at Harvard’s Wyss Institute Develop DNA Nanorobot to Trigger Targeted Therapeutic Responses