Created at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign) Nano Holder – something like a four-fingered hand made from a complete piece of DNA. cannot enter the cell, and in addition, NanoGripper can deliver drugs to target cells, which gives hope for its use in the fight against cancer.

According to the scientists, this is the first study of its kind that allows creating nanometer-scale capture from a single unbreakable strand of DNA. The thread is twisted repeatedly to create a four-finger grip with three movable joints on each “finger”. Nano Holder Tested for capture of the COVID-19 virus: Sensitive elements of joint capture were configured to detect adhesion proteins of the virus. As soon as the virus entered the capture zone, it was immediately swallowed.

A foreign element bound to the virus prevented it from entering the cell. This, together with the diagnostic system, allowed easy identification of the pathogen. The fixed and immobilized virus became a target for fluorescent molecules, revealing its presence. NanoGripper thus opens the possibility of counting viruses in biomaterial, enabling ultra-sensitive diagnosis.

The proposed solution will not help an already infected person recover, but can be used as a preventive measure. For example, as a nasal spray that creates a protective barrier against viruses. It is enough to drip your nose and a kind of “trap” for viral particles will be ready.

As the researchers note in their study published in the journal Science Robotics, the discovery has broader potential than the paper’s claims. The NanoGripper can be used to deliver cancer drugs directly into cells, to target other viruses such as HIV or hepatitis, and for diagnostic purposes.

“We aimed to create a nanoscale soft-material robot with unprecedented grasping functions that could interact with cells, viruses, and other molecules for biomedical applications. scientists explain. — We use DNA for its unique structural properties: durability, flexibility and programmability. Even for the field of DNA origami, this is innovative in terms of design principle. We twist a long strand of DNA back and forth to obtain all elements, both static and mobile, in one step “.