SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - US scientists say they have
merged a computer chip and a living human cell to create a "bionic
chip" they believe could revolutionize the way medicine is delivered
to the body.
The human tissue cell was successfully ensconced
within a miniscule chamber inside a computer chip – and kept alive
there – say researchers at the University of California at Berkeley,
in a report released this week in the March edition of the journal
Biomedical Microdevices.
"It's a silicon-based chip, similar to what you
would use in any computer or electronic device," says Boris
Rubinsky, one of the researchers who led the study, adding, "I
believe it truly is a bionic chip."
It took more than two years to create the device,
which is thinner than a human hair. The human cell sitting in the
center of the chip is kept alive by infusions of nutrients, and the
chip, which in turn is operated by a computer, can control its
activity.
Researchers say it is the first time a living
human cell has been controlled by a computer signal. But those who
think the bionic chip is a precursor to a real-life Bionic Woman,
the character from the popular US television show of the 1970s, may
be disappointed.
"The immediate use is in the context of drug
testing," said Mauro Ferrari, the editor-in-chief of the journal
Biomedical Microdevices, which published Rubinsky's study in its
March issue. "It's not something you can put in people and make them
jump like (basketball superstar) Michael Jordan," added
Ferrari.
According to Ferrari, the bionic chip will allow
scientists to more precisely introduce genes or drugs into a cell by
better controlling the opening and closing of the cell's membrane.
"This is cool technology," says
Ferrari, who believes the breakthrough would have enormous
implications for medical research.
If subsequent tests prove successful, it is hoped
the discovery could offer doctors a way to deliver medicine – or
designer genes – by opening cells without damaging them, he
says.
By opening and closing cells with the microscopic
device, scientists hope that, in the future, they may be able to
order cancer cells to open up and receive drugs that would
eventually destroy them. Applications of the bionic cell in the
treatment of other illnesses, such as diabetes, may also be
possible.
Up to now, scientists have been using electrical
currents to carry new genes to cells. But many have questioned the
effectiveness of this method because it gives no indication whether
the new genes actually reach their destination. "That was the
problem in the past – you didn't know if a certain voltage opened
the cell or not," noted Rubinsky. "With this (bionic chip) you have
exquisite control."
Rubinsky, who worked with his graduate student
Yong Huang, said making the bionic chip work was not easy. "It's
very difficult to make," Rubinsky said. "It is a three-layered chip,
with membranes that are a thousandth of a thickness of a hair. It
was pretty challenging." The University of California last year
applied for a patent on the technology
and may soon license it commercially.
