World's fastest nano engine

Engineers from the University of Texas at Austin have developed the smallest , fastest and most independent movement nanodvigatel in the world , said Science Daily , cited by BTA . This is an important step towards creating tiny calipers that will one day be able to move in the human body to deliver insulin for diabetics or to find and destroy cancer cells without affecting health. Engineers focused their attention on the development of flowmeters nanomotor that can transform electrical energy into mechanical motion. The nano engine created by a team led by Dunley Fan of the university consists of three parts. It can quickly get mixed  with biochemicals and move in liquids, and this is important for future application. Fang and her team for the first time achieved the difficult goal to design nanoengine with high power. With dimensions which are smaller than 1 micrometer, it can be introduced into a human cell , and to perform rotational movements for 15 hours continuously at a speed of 18 000 revolutions per minute , i.e. the speed of an aircraft engine . Existing similar nanomotors operate much slower - speed does not exceed 500 rpm. Moreover, their rotational movements lasting between a few seconds and several minutes without interruption. To test its ability to deliver drugs engineers put plating and biochemicals on the nanomotor, which led him to perform rotary movements. So it was found that the faster the rotation is, the faster it supplies drugs . "We were able to control the rate of drug delivery via mechanical rotation, and this means that the work of our team's nanomotor is unique with regard to the control of drug release from the surface of nanoparticles ," said Fang . The results were published in Nature Communications.