21st May 2014

Engineers build world's smallest, fastest nanomotor

Researchers at the University of Texas in Austin have built the smallest, fastest and longest-running tiny synthetic motor to date.

The team’s nanomotor is an important step toward developing miniature machines that could one day move through the body to administer insulin for diabetics when needed, or target and treat cancer cells without harming good cells.

With the goal of powering these yet-to-be invented devices, UT Austin engineers focused on building a reliable, ultra-high-speed nanomotor that can convert electrical energy into mechanical motion, on a scale 500 times smaller than a grain of salt. The researchers' three-part device can rapidly mix and pump biochemicals and move through liquids, which is important for future applications.

With all its dimensions under 1 micrometre in size, the nanomotor could fit inside a human cell and is capable of rotating for 15 continuous hours at a speed of 18,000 RPMs, the same as a motor in a jet airplane engine. Previous nanomotors run significantly slower, from 14 RPMs to 500 RPMs, and have only rotated for a few seconds up to a few minutes.

Looking forward, nanomotors could advance the field of nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS), an area focused on developing miniature machines that are more energy efficient and less expensive to produce. In the near future, the UT Austin researchers believe their work may provide a new approach to controlled biochemical drug delivery to live cells.

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