Is there a future for DNA-based molecular devices in diabetes management?
We provide a thought experiment in advanced molecular engineering leading to the construction of a molecular robot acting as a DNA-based closed-loop device for the management of diabetes mellitus. The key components of this robot are nucleic acid enzymes regulated allosterically by glucose. In the presence of glucose above a threshold level the robot moves, releasing insulin from a lawn covered with insulin, but stops in its tracks whenever glucose decreases to a level below threshold; thus, the robot could provide an insulin release response to spikes in glucose concentration in real time.
Taylor
Steven
S
Associate Research Scientist, Lymphoma and Leukemia Society Scholar, The NSF Center for Molecular Cybernetics, Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Department of Medicine, Columbia University, New York, New York 10032, USA. mns18@columbia.edu
Stojanovic
Milan N
MN