Descripción del proyecto
Estudio del comportamiento colectivo de enjambres de nanobots de enzimas
Inspirados por las bandadas de pájaros y los bancos de peces, investigadores del ámbito de la nanorrobótica se han propuesto alcanzar la misma complejidad de movimientos y aplicar comportamientos de enjambres en sistemas artificiales. Hasta el momento, los nanobots artificiales se han estudiado de forma individual. Sin embargo, no se ha prestado demasiada atención a cómo se propulsan, navegan y comunican los nanobots en entornos biológicamente relevantes. Para profundizar en su comportamiento cooperativo, el proyecto financiado con fondos europeos i-NANOSWARMS desarrollará enjambres de nanobots impulsados por enzimas capaces de autopropulsarse mediante combustibles biocompatibles y biodisponibles. El proyecto será una prueba de concepto de la pertinencia de los nanoenjambres inteligentes para aplicaciones biomédicas, una mejor administración de fármacos y la obtención de imágenes médicas.
Objetivo
In nature, systems composed of self-propelling agents display complex behaviors such as signal interpretation, propagation, amplification and engage in collective motion mediated by interactions between different agents and their environment. Examples range from swarming bacteria to schooling fish and flocking birds. These self-organized systems have served as an inspiration for researchers seeking to achieve complexity in artificial systems composed of synthetic agents. A class of agents that has recently been demonstrated is of synthetic nanomachines (nanobots) that can self-propel thanks to the conversion of chemical energy, harvested from the environment, into motion. While most of the artificial nanobots have been explored at individual level, their collective emergent behavior, arising from inter-particle interactions through chemical and hydrodynamic fields, and through environment mediated interactions is yet to be properly studied. Understanding collective effects will be especially useful in biologically relevant environments, where a number of applications for these nanobot systems have been envisioned.
i-NANOSWARMS aims to realize enzyme-powered nanobot swarms capable to self-propel using biocompatible and bioavailable fuels and display collective and cooperative behaviours through communication among them as well as with the host environment. The proposal is divided in three working packages. In WP1, I will create a toolbox of nanobots based on a library of enzymes and nanoparticle architectures to study communication and long-range signal propagation using enzyme cascades. WP2 will be devoted to the collective behavior of nanobot swarms, exploiting biomimetic strategies such as chemotaxis and stigmergy to guide and recruit other nanobots. WP3 aims at studying, as a proof-of-concept of the applicability of intelligent nanoswarms for biomedical applications, cooperative behavior among nanoswarms for enhanced drug delivery and medical imaging.
Ámbito científico
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiologybacteriology
- engineering and technologynanotechnologynano-materials
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuels
- engineering and technologymedical engineeringdiagnostic imaging
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomoleculesproteinsenzymes
Palabras clave
Programa(s)
Régimen de financiación
ERC-COG - Consolidator GrantInstitución de acogida
08028 Barcelona
España