Georgia Tech researchers projected light patterns of stars and circles to prompt protein networks to assemble and contract in matching shapes. Their study explored ways to generate and control microscale forces that could someday inform designs for synthetic cells that deliver drugs.
Using patterned light to generate and control microscale forces could inform designs for synthetic cells that deliver drugs.
Engineers interested in creating artificial cells to deliver drugs to unhealthy parts of the body face a key challenge: for a cell-like system to move, change shape, or divide, it needs a way to generate force on command.
Biological cells rely on adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to move muscles, transport substances across membranes, and perform other functions. Many cellular machines couple ATP hydrolysis (a process where chemical energy stored in ATP is released) directly to motion.
But some single-celled organisms called ciliates use a different strategy. A pulse of calcium triggers an ultrafast contraction, and ATP is used afterward to pump calcium back into storage and reset the system.
In a Nature Communications study led by Georgia Tech, researchers learned how to use a similar mechanism to control the movements of artificial protein networks without relying on ATP-powered motor proteins. Instead, they used calcium as a trigger to make the networks contract or relax.
“If engineers want synthetic cells that can do cell-like things, they need a way to generate force on command,” said Saad Bhamla, a co-author and an associate professor in Georgia Tech’s School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. “Cells have to move, change shape, and divide. We’re trying to build a controllable engine from simple parts.”