Microscopic 3D structures created using DNA and water in Columbia Engineering’s revolutionary self-assembly process (Photo: Pinterest)
Researchers constructed 3D structures by combining DNA with water in a way that automatically assembles itself just as Nature does. A great stride in the field of nanotechnology and it's going to change the way tiny devices from electronics to medical tools are manufactured in the future.
DNA instead of relying on the usual method of 3D printing which prints using different layers of mechanisms, researchers thought of using DNA as a construction material that would be programmed to build things. They encoded instructions directly into strands of DNA. The installation of DNA into water would automatically take shape into 3D architecture without an external cause.
This is how cells form within living beings, and this is not just a paradigm of efficiency this is deep. How a biology could be reshaped into engineered application solutions.
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The researchers showed that the structures assembled with DNA could be used to manufacture microscopic components, potentially destined for use in electronics or biomedical implants. Among the first prototypes were minuscule frameworks that looked like sensors and flexible circuits.
What differentiates this method is potentially the scale of simplicity with which one can create devices. Instead of building devices with costly, energy hungry machinery and one grows its building blocks into shape. That's a step towards devices that might one day self-assemble within the body or underneath a microscope.
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Beyond efficiency lies serious environmental benefits. Traditional methods of nanofabrication often involve using toxic chemicals and expending energy in large amounts. In contrast, the DNA based process utilizes water an innocuous, inexpensive solvent and depends on organic material to do most of the work.
Cited in Nature and later highlighted by Voxel Matters and this innovation might reduce the ecological footprint of the nanotech manufacturing process. However, there lies promise for some medical technology advances such as ultra small drug delivery systems or internal diagnostic sensors.
The research is still in its early stages, and its implications are vast. As head of the study Professor Oleg Gang believes the coming years may redefine the manner in which biological processes could be integrated with modern engineering in terms of atomic level material design. This could mark the initiation of a new era technology not imitating life but reproducing itself as life does.
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Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. Scientific claims are based on peer-reviewed studies and subject to ongoing research and validation.
