Credit: Adapted from ACS Nano 2020, DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.9b08714
Scientists have tried to develop synthetic red blood cells that mimic the favorable properties of natural ones, such as flexibility, oxygen transport and long circulation times.
But so far, most artificial red blood cells have had one or a few, but not all, key features of the natural versions. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Nano have made synthetic red blood cells that have all of the cells’ natural abilities, plus a few new ones.
Red blood cells (RBCs) take up oxygen from the lungs and deliver it to the body’s tissues. These disk-shaped cells contain millions of molecules of hemoglobin –– an iron-containing protein that binds oxygen. RBCs are highly flexible, which allows them to squeeze through tiny capillaries and then bounce back to their former shape.
The cells also contain proteins on their surface that allow them to circulate through blood vessels for a long time without being gobbled up by immune cells. Wei Zhu, C. Jeffrey Brinker and colleagues wanted to make artificial RBCs that had similar properties to natural ones, but that could also perform new jobs such as therapeutic drug delivery, magnetic targeting and toxin detection.
The researchers made the synthetic cells by first coating donated human RBCs with a thin layer of silica. They layered positively and negatively charged polymers over the silica-RBCs, and then etched away the silica, producing flexible replicas. Finally, the team coated the surface of the replicas with natural RBC membranes. The artificial cells were similar in size, shape, charge and surface proteins to natural cells, and they could squeeze through model capillaries without losing their shape. In mice, the synthetic RBCs lasted for more than 48 hours, with no observable toxicity.
The researchers loaded the artificial cells with either hemoglobin, an anticancer drug, a toxin sensor or magnetic nanoparticles to demonstrate that they could carry cargoes. The team also showed that the new RBCs could act as decoys for a bacterial toxin. Future studies will explore the potential of the artificial cells in medical applications, such as cancer therapy and toxin biosensing, the researchers say.
The Latest Updates from Bing News & Google News
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Synthetic red blood cells
- News tagged with red blood cells
A common concern about gender-affirming hormone therapy for transmasculine people is the risk of red blood cell volume changes and erythrocytosis, a high concentration of red blood cells ...
- Editorial: Innovative medical technology based on artificial cells, including its different configurations
Artificial cell is too large an area to be covered under this journal Research Topic. Artificial red blood cells or blood substitute alone already require a >1,000-page multi-author books (7). Many ...
- First Ever Humans Injected With Synthetic, Lab-Grown Blood
According to the BBC, roughly half a million stem cells can be turned into 50 billion red blood cells in a ... of a couple of teaspoons of the synthetic blood. A radioactive substance included ...
- Sickle Cell Disease
Sickle cell disease is a group of conditions in which red blood cells are not shaped as they should be. Red blood cells normally look like round discs. But in sickle cell disease, they're shaped like ...
- What Are Red Blood Cells?
Red blood cells have the important job of carrying oxygen all over the body. These cells, which float in your blood, begin their journey in the lungs, where they pick up oxygen from the air you ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Synthetic red blood cells
[google_news title=”” keyword=”synthetic red blood cells” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Artificial red blood cells
- Professional FAQs: What Causes Your Red Blood Cells To Be Low?
A low red blood cell count is known as anemia. There are two main types. Anemia caused by decreased or defective production of red blood cells, and anemia caused by increased destruction of red ...
- What causes a high red blood cell count?
A high red blood cell count can occur for many reasons, including excessive cell production, changes in blood volume, or underlying medical conditions. Sometimes, the cause is unknown ...
- Editorial: Innovative medical technology based on artificial cells, including its different configurations
Artificial cell is too large an area to be covered under this journal Research Topic. Artificial red blood cells or blood substitute alone already require a >1,000-page multi-author books (7). Many ...
- Magnified Red Blood Cells stock videos and footage
Mutating irradiated cell seen through a microscope background Extreme close-up cells seen through microscope background magnified red blood cells stock videos & royalty-free footage Extreme close-up ...
- Sickle Cell Disease
Sickle cell disease is a group of conditions in which red blood cells are not shaped as they should be. Red blood cells normally look like round discs. But in sickle cell disease, they're shaped like ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Artificial red blood cells
[google_news title=”” keyword=”artificial red blood cells” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
