RSS
Microscopic Light Sabers for Drug Delivery
A team from the University of St Andrews in Scotland has developed a machine only 2 millimeters wide that can fire a tiny laser beam so accurately that it can puncture individual cells!
The device was developed by Professor Kishan Dholakia from the university’s school of physics and Dr Frank Gunn-Moore from the school of biology.
Dr Gunn-Moore said: “You could think of these as tiny light sabres like they had in Star Wars inside your body.
“We can use lasers to punch tiny holes exactly where we want them. We can produce a rod of light – sometimes described as a sword – that can even go around objects. It really does sound like science fiction.”
The new device relies on a method called “photoporation”, allowing insoluble compounds such as genes and drugs to be injected into individual cells with the assistance of light.
Byrd Brain
