Engineers Create World's Smallest Nanomotor that can Fit in a Human Cell [Video]

Engineers at The University of Texas have developed the world's smallest nanomotor that is barely 1 micrometer in size - so small that it can fit in a human cell. The tiny motor could be used in machines designed to deliver drugs or perform surgeries.

The three-part nanomotor, designed and tested by Dongle "Emma" Fan and team, can mix and pump biological substances and even move through liquids. The motor can rotate for 15 continuous hours at a speed of 18,000 RPMs, which according to the researchers, is comparable to the speed of motors used in a jet plane engine.

To build the nanomotor, Fan used a technique that she developed while she was at Johns Hopkins University. The technique is patent-pending and uses AC and DC electric fields to build the motor parts one by one.

The motor could help power miniature machines in delivering small amounts of drugs directly to the cells. The ability to target medication to specific sites could be helpful in killing cancer cells without affecting neighbouring tissues.

The nanomotor is energy and cost efficient. The team tested the motor by coating the surface of the motor with bio-chemicals and spinning it. They found that the faster the motor rotated, the faster it delivered the drug.

"We were able to establish and control the molecule-release rate by mechanical rotation, which means our nanomotor is the first of its kind for controlling the release of drugs from the surface of nanoparticles," Fan said in a news release. "We believe it will help advance the study of drug delivery and cell-to-cell communications."

The team also found that they could assemble the nanomotors in patterns that could extend their efficiency.

The study is published in the journal Nature Communications and was funded by National Science Foundation Career Award, the Welch Foundation and startup funds came from the Cockrell School.

Recently, Penn State University scientists had reported placing tiny synthetic motors inside live human cell. These motors were powered using ultrasonic waves.