Science Advances: Pipes two million times smaller than ants

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University studied miniature pipes that were only one part millionth of a millionth wide for a hair, and they devised a way to ensure that these smallest pipes were not subject to minimal leakage

Leak-free tubes made of nanotubes that can self-assemble, repair themselves, and connect themselves to different biological structures are an important step in creating a network of nanotubes that could in the future deliver specialized drugs, proteins, and molecules to the body's target cells

"This study is a very powerful demonstration that it is feasible to make non-leaking nanotubes using these simple self-assembling techniques, i.

The tubes used by the team are about 7 nanometers in diameter — 2 million times smaller than an ant — and several microns long, about the length

The method builds on existing techniques, reusing DNA fragments as building blocks, growth and repair pipes, while enabling them to seek out and connect to specific structures

Previous studies have designed similar structures to make shorter structures called nanopores

But if the nanotube is like a pipe, the nanopore is like a short tube, and it alone cannot reach other pipes, containers, or equipment

"Building a long tube from a small well not only allows the molecules to pass through the membrane pores that house the molecules, but also to indicate where those molecules are going after they leave the

Nanotubes are formed using strands

Yi Li, a Ph.

By precisely measuring the shape of the tubes, how their biomolecules are attached to specific nanopores, and the speed at which the fluorescent solution flows, the team showed how tubes can move the molecules into tiny lab culture bags that resemble cell membranes

"Now we can call it a piping system because we're using these channels to direct the flow of certain substances or molecules across greater distances," Li said

DNA nanotubes could help scientists better understand how neurons interact.

Next, the team will conduct additional research