via University of Manchester
Scientists at The University of Manchester have created the world’s first ‘molecular robot’ that is capable of performing basic tasks including building other molecules.
The tiny robots, which are a millionth of a millimetre in size, can be programmed to move and build molecular cargo, using a tiny robotic arm.
Each individual robot is capable of manipulating a single molecule and is made up of just 150 carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen atoms. To put that size into context, a billion billion of these robots piled on top of each other would still only be the same size as a single grain of salt.
The robots operate by carrying out chemical reactions in special solutions which can then be controlled and programmed by scientists to perform the basic tasks.
In the future such robots could be used for medical purposes, advanced manufacturing processes and even building molecular factories and assembly lines. The research will be published in Nature today (21st September).
Professor David Leigh, who led the research at University’s School of Chemistry, explains: ‘All matter is made up of atoms and these are the basic building blocks that form molecules. Our robot is literally a molecular robot constructed of atoms just like you can build a very simple robot out of Lego bricks. The robot then responds to a series of simple commands that are programmed with chemical inputs by a scientist.
Molecular robotics represents the ultimate in the miniaturisation of machinery. Our aim is to design and make the smallest machines possible. This is just the start but we anticipate that within 10 to 20 years molecular robots will begin to be used to build molecules and materials on assembly lines in molecular factories.
‘It is similar to the way robots are used on a car assembly line. Those robots pick up a panel and position it so that it can be riveted in the correct way to build the bodywork of a car. So, just like the robot in the factory, our molecular version can be programmed to position and rivet components in different ways to build different products, just on a much smaller scale at a molecular level.’
The benefit of having machinery that is so small is it massively reduces demand for materials, can accelerate and improve drug discovery, dramatically reduce power requirements and rapidly increase the miniaturisation of other products. Therefore, the potential applications for molecular robots are extremely varied and exciting.
Prof Leigh says: ‘Molecular robotics represents the ultimate in the miniaturisation of machinery. Our aim is to design and make the smallest machines possible. This is just the start but we anticipate that within 10 to 20 years molecular robots will begin to be used to build molecules and materials on assembly lines in molecular factories.’
Whilst building and operating such tiny machine is extremely complex, the techniques used by the team are based on simple chemical processes.
Prof Leigh added: ‘The robots are assembled and operated using chemistry. This is the science of how atoms and molecules react with each other and how larger molecules are constructed from smaller ones.
‘It is the same sort of process scientists use to make medicines and plastics from simple chemical building blocks. Then, once the nano-robots have been constructed, they are operated by scientists by adding chemical inputs which tell the robots what to do and when, just like a computer program.’
Learn more: Scientists create world’s first ‘molecular robot’ capable of building molecules
The Latest on: Molecular robot
- Scientists present gear wheel 1-50,000th the thickness of a human hairon May 11, 2022 at 5:20 am
A research team at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) has successfully built the world’s smallest energy-powered gear wheel with its corresponding counterpart.
- Global Molecular Point of Care (POC) Markets Report 2021-2022 & 2026 with a Complete Update on mPOC and COVID-19on May 9, 2022 at 3:18 am
DUBLIN, May 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "The Market and Future Potential for Molecular Point of Care (POC), 2022" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The Market and Future ...
- Global Molecular FISH Testing Market is anticipated to reach US$ 978.6 Mn by 2027| CAGR: 7.2%: Astute Analyticaon May 8, 2022 at 12:53 pm
The study undertaken by Astute Analytica forecasts a growth in revenue of the Global Molecular FISH Testing Market from US$ 645.2 Mn in 2021 to US$ 978.6 Mn by 2027. The market is registering a ...
- Molecular robots work cooperatively in swarmson May 4, 2022 at 4:36 pm
molecular power generation devices, and micro-detection devices," says Akira Kakugo. This research was supported by the Future AI and Robot Technology Research and Development Project from the New ...
- That Wine Review You're Consulting Could Be Written By A Roboton May 4, 2022 at 10:21 am
Artificial Intelligence is capable of many things, and now even that wine review you're consulting could be written by a robot.
- Scientists made millions of swarming DNA robotson May 4, 2022 at 2:19 am
have developed the world’s first micro-scale swarming robots. Their results were published in the journal Science Robotics. The team constructed 5 million molecular machines made up of microtubules — ...
- Molecular Robots Swarm to Deliver Cargoon April 26, 2022 at 5:37 pm
Researchers at Hokkaido University in Japan created molecular robots that can employ swarm behaviors to move and release small cargoes. The robots can be controlled using light, and they consist ...
- Molecular robots work cooperatively in swarmson April 20, 2022 at 11:18 am
SAPPORO, Japan, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In a global first, scientists at Hokkaido University have demonstrated that molecular robots are able to accomplish cargo delivery by employing a ...
- Molecular robots work cooperatively in swarmson April 20, 2022 at 11:01 am
image: Schematic illustrations of cargo transport by a swarm of molecular robots (top) and fluorescence images of a molecular robot transporting blue sphere-like cargo (bottom). The scale bar is ...
- Molecular robots work cooperatively in swarmson April 19, 2022 at 5:00 pm
Scientists have demonstrated that molecular robots are able to accomplish cargo delivery by employing a strategy of swarming, achieving a transport efficiency five times greater than that of ...
via Google News and Bing News