14 DAY TRIAL // A collaboration of researchers from the University of California in San Diego (UCSD) announce the development of an impressive new concept for addressing diseases. Experts say that it's possible to use nanoscale “rockets” to deliver chemicals to the needed sites.
They explain that the microrockets they have developed travel through bodily fluids by extracting power from hydrogen bubbles. The latter are very often found in the strong acids that help the human stomach process the food we eat.
As such, the innovation could be especially useful for addressing conditions that affect the digestive system, such as cancer and ulcers. Details of the study were published in the January 18 issue of the esteemed Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS).
Investigators explain that each of the microrockets is only about 10 nanometers long, which is the equivalent of a thousandth of the width of a human hair. These devices are basically small motors, which can be attached to drug molecules in order to provide propulsion.
At first, the instruments may be used as sensors and evaluation tools. For example, doctors may find them useful in establishing the pH level of certain areas of the body. In the future, further developments will probably enable the microrockets to travel to many other locations inside the body.
This is not the first time that UCSD researchers develop devices of this type. A previous version included a platinum lining, and required the presence of hydrogen peroxide to function. In the new variant, the group replaced platinum with zinc.
In turn, this eliminated the necessity of an external fuel source, enabling the microrockets to make use of hydrogen already in their environment. The chemical reaction that fuels the device only takes place when acids interact with zinc.
When activated by sufficient hydrogen, the microrockets can accelerate to speed of up to 1,050 nanometers (1.05 micrometers) per second. This is an impressive speed, considering that each of the motors travels 105 times its own length in a single second.
The actual speed is dependent entirely on how much hydrogen is available in the environment. This means that the microrockets will always travel faster in more acidic conditions. An added benefit is that zinc is safer for the human body than platinum, Innovation News Daily reports.