Key points from article :
Researchers at Penn State have taken a significant step toward designing nanobots that can perform specialized tasks, such as targeted drug delivery. In a study published in Cell Reports Physical Science, the team demonstrated that tiny enzyme-coated particles can communicate and follow one another by leaving behind chemical trails, much like ants following scent paths. This “follow the leader” behavior could one day enable nanobots to work together in complex ways inside the human body.
Led by Ayusman Sen, the Verne M. Willaman Professor of Chemistry, the researchers used a new microfluidic device to watch the particles for much longer than previously possible. Within these channels, one set of particles created a chemical gradient as they moved, which the second set then detected and followed. This mimics natural systems where organisms or proteins move directionally in response to chemical signals, a process known as chemotaxis.
The experiments showed that particles coated with one enzyme could generate a trail by converting a chemical, while particles coated with another enzyme followed that trail to continue the reaction sequence. This “non-reciprocal interaction,” where one group leads and the other follows, is typically only seen in living systems and challenges traditional physics principles.
The Penn State team envisions a future where such communicating nanobots could revolutionize medicine. Instead of exposing the entire body to chemotherapy, for example, one group of particles could locate a tumor and summon another group carrying the drug directly to the site. While still at an early stage, the work highlights how bio-inspired design and nanotechnology may one day enable highly precise treatments with fewer side effects.
