Release date: 2016-12-08
Just like the assembly line in the factory, if the enzymes in the human body are collected in a specific place and the raw materials are transferred between the enzyme and the enzyme in an orderly manner, the final product can be produced more efficiently. Recently, scientists at the Cornell University Baker Institute for Animal Health used nanoparticles to immobilize enzymes at specific locations, and for the first time synthesized an "enzyme production line" containing 10 processes.
Their research was inspired by sperm. In the sperm tail, nanoparticles acquire biological functions by activating the activity of the enzyme. These enzymes convert sugar into lactic acid and energy, allowing sperm to travel at a rate of 5 per second.
Chinatsu Mukai, the first author and postdoctoral researcher of the study, said: "Sperm is an extremely efficient energy conversion system." In the Alex Travis lab at Baker Institute, Mukai et al. Engaged in research on metabolism and sperm function. Their idea is to mimic the tail of the sperm, trying to achieve the same energy conversion efficiency on a small artificial device. The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health Pioneer Grant project, and its results were recently published in the journal Angewandte Chemie.
In cells, most of the enzymes that convert sugar into energy ("glycolysis") float in the cell fluid and act only on "just passing" sugar molecules. However, in sperm, the enzyme that performs glycolysis is attached to a specific area defined by the solid protein, which is located directly below the cell membrane and distributed in most places of the sperm tail.
Travis said: "The sugar molecules are captured by the underlying enzyme immediately after entering the cell through the cell membrane, and then passed to the next enzyme in a 'pipeline' manner. This way produces a lot of energy in a short time."
The biological system developed by the Travis Laboratory team uses a similar working mechanism: the sugar molecules are ordered to produce a large amount of energy through the enzymes attached to the nanoparticles. The immobilized enzyme is able to convert glucose to lactate more efficiently than the free enzyme in solution, leaving less intermediates. This 10-step biosystem is a huge advancement in this area, with previously reported systems with a maximum of two to three steps.
Travis said that if this approach can increase the net production value of energy, a series of applications will emerge. In sperm, these energies are used to run the sperm so that it can meet the egg. But in nanobiotechnology, these energies can power a variety of functions.
“For example, we want to develop a device that only has blood cell size, each device carries a dose of chemotherapy. If equipped with this engine, the device can use the sugar in the blood to power itself, at a specific rate. Drugs are transported to where they are needed," Travis said.
His team has tried to commercialize this technology, using the concept of immobilized enzymes in devices that test blood samples to detect stroke or traumatic brain damage.
Mukai said: "It is well known that the synthesis of artificial cells is inseparable from metabolism. Therefore, a breakthrough in this direction may help humans realize the dream of making artificial cells."
Source: Deep Technology
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