Biomedical engineers at UC Davis have created that mimic some of the properties of living cells. The artificial cells do not grow and divide, but could detect, react to and destroy bacteria in a lab dish. (Cheemeng Tan, UC Davis)
Lego block” artificial cells that can kill bacteria have been created by researchers at the University of California, Davis, Department of Biomedical Engineering. The work is reported Aug. 29 in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.
“We engineered artificial cells from the bottom-up — like Lego blocks — to destroy bacteria,” said Assistant Professor Cheemeng Tan, who led the work. The cells are built from liposomes, or bubbles with a cell-like lipid membrane, and purified cellular components including proteins, DNA and metabolites.
“We demonstrated that artificial cells can sense, react and interact with bacteria, as well as function as systems that both detect and kill bacteria with little dependence on their environment,” Tan said.
The team’s artificial cells mimic the essential features of live cells, but are short-lived and cannot divide to reproduce themselves. The cells were designed to respond to a unique chemical signature on E. coli bacteria. They were able to detect, attack and destroy the bacteria in laboratory experiments.
Artificial cells previously only had been successful in nutrient-rich environments, Tan said. However, by optimizing the artificial cells’ membranes, cytosol and genetic circuits, the team made them work in a wide variety of environments with very limited resources such as water, emphasizing their robustness in less-than-ideal or changing conditions. These improvements significantly broaden the overall potential application of artificial cells.
Antibacterial artificial cells might one day be infused into patients to tackle infections resistant to other treatments. They might also be used to deliver drugs at the specific location and time, or as biosensors.
Learn more: Artificial Cells Are Tiny Bacteria Fighters
The Latest on: Artificial cells
via Google News
The Latest on: Artificial cells
- Artificial Intelligence Moving Towards Brighter Future in Healthcare Industryon March 4, 2021 at 12:20 am
The artificial intelligence in healthcare market is expected to witness substantial growth post-pandemic. The global healthcare infrastructure has observed that, in order to develop and maintain ...
- Red 6 Raises $7 Million in Safe Round Led by Red Cell, Snowpoint, and Octaveon March 1, 2021 at 10:07 pm
Red 6, a revolutionary technology firm at the forefront of synthetic air combat training, is proud to announce it has raised $7 million in the form of a SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity). The ...
- New study challenges 'established' mechanism about selectivity of cellular ion channelson March 1, 2021 at 12:02 pm
The cell membranes of all organisms contain ion channels that permit ions to pass into or out of the cell, and these channels play extremely important roles in fundamental physiological processes such ...
- Study on artificial microswimmers could improve the efficacy of targeted cancer therapyon February 27, 2021 at 12:15 am
A Mason Engineering researcher has discovered that artificial microswimmers accumulate where their speed is minimized, an idea that could have implications for improving the efficacy of targeted ...
- Using artificial intelligence to hunt for breast canceron February 25, 2021 at 4:00 pm
Endocrine disruptors (EDs) are hormone-like substances that can have undesirable effects on health. For example, chemicals can increase the risk of breast cancer if they act in a manner similar to the ...
- Researchers develop biocompatible support device for artificial organson February 25, 2021 at 4:00 pm
Scientists from ITMO University have designed a device that allows the human nervous system to control implants. The invention consists of miniature resistors, capacitor, diodes, and memristors based ...
- Artificial microswimmers slow down and accumulate in low-fuel regionson February 25, 2021 at 4:00 pm
"For example, your immune cells use chemotaxis to detect and swim toward sites of injury, so they can initiate tissue repair." Moran and colleagues, like others in the field, have long been curious ...
- New research on artificial microswimmers uncovers a possible solution for delivering targeted cancer treatmentson February 25, 2021 at 4:00 pm
A Mason Engineering researcher has discovered that artificial microswimmers accumulate where their speed is minimized, an idea that could have implications for improving the efficacy of targeted ...
- Redox switches up possibilities for signal transduction in artificial cellson February 25, 2021 at 1:27 am
Vitamin C triggers membrane translocation in a synthetic system, which generates an amplified fluorescent response ...
- Artificial control of the glial state could help improve memory functionon February 24, 2021 at 9:08 pm
Activation of the metabotropic glutamate receptors in neurons was shown to be largely influenced by the state of the glial cells. Therefore, artificial control of the glial state could potentially be ...
via Bing News
