It was already approaching evening when Director Cui received the people from Sanqing from the hospital entrance.
With a joyful smile on his face, he held the other person's right hand tightly, expressing his excitement.
"Hello, Xue Shen. Nice to meet you. That's great. You came so quickly. I thought you wouldn't arrive until tomorrow."
Xue Shen smiled slightly. He was of medium build, with a flat head and square face. He looked unattractive, but his eyes were clear and focused, and his expression was calm and calm. Wearing a white lab coat, he stood in the outpatient hall of the hospital. For a moment, he looked like someone The medical staff around them were no different.
He calmly withdrew his hand, patted a refrigerator he was carrying in his left hand, and said: "Isn't this to save people? We are also very anxious. By the way, this is based on your antibiotic plan. It is in the laboratory." Improvised nanopills loaded with teicoplanin.”
"Teicoplanin has low toxicity and adverse reactions are generally mild and short-lived, making it very suitable for use by frail patients."
"Mainly, the previous antibiotic regimen had little effect, so we have high hopes for the nanopills. I hope they can work." Director Cui said worriedly, leading Xue Kun to the ICU.
However, he did not enter the ICU ward directly. Instead, he stopped a doctor at the door and ordered: "You first go and ask the patient's family to sign. He said that it is a new antibiotic treatment plan of Sanqing, and he needs to sign the clinical trial consent." Book, once it’s done, we’ll go over and give the patient medicine.”
Watching the doctor nod and leave, he brought Xue Kun into his office.
"Come, it's cold outside, drink a cup of hot water to warm yourself up." Director Cui handed over a cup of hot water and said with a smile: "I have been practicing medicine for more than half my life, and this is the first time I have seen nano pills. I am really curious. I didn't expect Sanqing There has been so much research into nanotechnology.”
Xue Kun put the box on the table, opened it, and said with a smile: "Actually, it's nothing unusual. It's completely different from what you see in science fiction movies. Don't take it seriously."
Director Cui looked over eagerly and saw two syringes placed in the box. The transparent syringes were filled with light green liquid.
He didn't dare to touch it casually, and carefully stared at it again and again before exclaiming in amazement: "This is a nano pill. It looks quite ordinary, but it is indeed different from what I imagined."
"Well, can you tell me a little bit about the relevant technology so that I can understand it?"
Xue Shen had a rather complacent expression on his face and spoke slowly.
"Actually, nanotechnology is not a sophisticated word, but refers to technologies developed at the nanometer scale. This is mainly because of the main molecular players in organisms and the targets of mainstream drugs and treatments in medicine. Proteins and DNA are both at the nanoscale.”
"You should know that biological molecules such as DNA and proteins belong to the nanoscale, living organisms such as E. coli and animal cells belong to the micron scale, and human tissues such as muscles, hearts and skin belong to the macro scale, ranging from millimeters and centimeters to Rice makes up the entire human body.”
"Human beings can currently only perceive the macroscopic world and cannot see the nanometer world where individual biomolecules exist at all. These are two completely different worlds, and nanotechnology is the interface that directly connects the two worlds."
"This is a technology that spans space, from the macroscale of the physician to the nanoscale where biomolecules reside, navigating the ultra-complex multi-scale landscape of organs, tissues and cells."
"Scientists of the previous generation had a conservative optimism that life could be reduced to genes and molecules."
"They believe that life is like putting together building blocks. By putting countless chemical molecules together into a biochemical computer according to a genetically encoded algorithm program, real consciousness and life can be produced on a macroscopic level."
“As we delve into all the details of life, the more we learn, the more we appreciate the complexity of living things.”
"The structure of each organism is multi-scale, and unique biomechanical models can be constructed at each scale, such as biomolecular function models, cell behavior models, and tissue models."
"Together, these models enable quantitative mathematical representations of biological phenomena."
"In other words, this is actually the physics of life."
“Physics attempts to understand the scientific and cognitive divide between ecosystems at the nanoscale (molecules), the micron scale (cells), the millimeter and centimeter scales of tissues and organs, the meter scale of large living organisms, and even the scale of entire planets. , build a bridge of communication.”
"By using physical methods to study biology, we will actually refine the recipe of the universe, weave and assemble matter from the nanoscale, and continue to enlarge the scale to gain ultimate power to revolutionize human technology and medicine."
"Knowing genes alone is not enough to explain life or address medical challenges."
"Now in the 21st century, people have embraced the complexity of life. Apart from believing that life is a 'symphony of intertwined genes, cells, tissues, bodies and environments,' science has no other rationally feasible route."
"Quantitative science and technology and mathematical descriptions of biology are the instruments that play this symphony."
“Nanotechnologies are one of those instruments because they allow us to sense the chemical and physical properties of the microscopic world.”
"At the nanometer level, the interaction of structures with temperature, water, ions, and chemical reactions can form precise movements. Mastering the mechanical and mechanical properties of this organism is the so-called nanotechnology."
"Cells can sense non-molecular cues, such as mechanical signals, electrical signals and vibrations, or change based on the temperature or chemical conditions of the environment, and can use DNA to respond to these cues.
"This could be both a genetic and a non-genetic response."
"For example, a strong pulling force on the cell surface can be transmitted all the way to the nucleus and deform it. Generally speaking, this will cause mechanical reorganization of DNA in the nucleus, and perhaps the end result is increased expression or inhibition of specific proteins."
"The morphology of the nucleus, its mechanical properties, its connections to other components of the cell, and the reorganization of DNA within the nucleus are all part of the active computing power in the cell."
He picked up a syringe, pointed at the faint green solution in the syringe, and said: "The green inside is actually a kind of green algae, and it is also one of the components of nanorobots."
"Your eyes can only see these solutions, but where your eyes can't see, there are thousands of tiny green algae, and they are paddling desperately."
"This single-celled organism has two hair-like actin filament arms, also called flagella. Hair-like actin also exists in the human body. In fact, they are everywhere."
"In the human body's environment of 37 degrees Celsius, water molecules can move very fast, about 600 meters per second, and actin will continue to be hit by water molecules in the water. This is called Brownian motion or thermal motion, resulting in It has a continuous swing and keeps moving forward, just like a warm current in the sea. The egg can descend from the fallopian tube because of this flow of fluid produced by actin."
"This synchronized, coordinated movement of the green algae's flagella allows it to move forward in the water, like a breaststroke stroke."
"We used this property to create nanorobots that can paddle through blood and body fluids."
"The algae surface was first modified with azide N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) ester and then conjugated with dibenzocyclooctyne (DBCO)-modified neutrophil membrane-coated polymer nanoparticles via click chemistry, so that This forms a nanorobot with the ability to move and carry drugs."
"Finally, antibiotic drug molecules are loaded on the nanoparticles. When the nanorobot swims to the infection site, it will release the antibiotic molecules and kill the bacteria, thereby achieving effective therapeutic effects."
"As a doctor, you should know that there are actually many effective drugs in clinical practice, but they cannot treat diseases well. One of the important reasons is that the drugs cannot accurately reach the lesions and release the drugs in a targeted manner."
“Drugs enter the body through oral administration or intravenous infusion. In the process of reaching the lesion, they will pass through many checkpoints and most of them will be metabolized. This is equivalent to systemic drug administration, thus causing problems such as high side effects and poor therapeutic effect. .”
"Our nanopills can flow autonomously in the human body, find the diseased site, and then release the drug to achieve the effect of precision medicine. In this way, not only can the time for the drug to take effect be shortened, but also the required amount can be The dose of the drug is thousands of times lower."
Director Cui was shocked when he heard these words. He stared at the light green tube in Xue Kun's hand, with a trace of expectation in his eyes.
"If the effect you mentioned can really be achieved, then only a small part of the antibiotics will be needed to achieve the therapeutic effect, and the abuse of antibiotics will no longer be a problem." Director Cui couldn't help but murmured to himself.
Xue Kun put the syringe back into the box and added: "This injection needs to be refrigerated, because algae will continue to move under the influence of water molecules at room temperature. Only at low temperatures of 0-4 degrees Celsius can they maintain low activity."
"At the same time, it also requires intrathoracic injection. The antibiotics only need to be injected directly into the lung fluid to achieve rapid effects."
"We used this nanopill to treat acute lung infection in a 14-day animal experiment."
"Experiments have proven that nanorobots have extremely strong movement and drug-carrying capabilities in the lung fluid of mice. After 1 hour of movement, 95% of the algae are still alive and evenly distributed, without being phagocytosed by immune cells. This is This reflects excellent adaptability and the ability to sustainably release drug therapy."
"We also compared the effect of the nanorobot with conventional intravenous treatment. At the same drug dose, it was significantly better than intravenous injection. In fact, the intravenous dose would have to be 3,000 times higher than the dose loaded onto the nanopill to achieve the same results in small doses. The same effect is achieved in mice.”
"Additionally, the toxicity of nanopills is negligible because both the nanoparticles and the algae degrade naturally in the body and are excreted after one to two days."
Director Cui nodded repeatedly and couldn't help but pick up another syringe. His eyes lit up and he couldn't put it down.
However, he did not dare to look further, for fear that over time, the temperature would rise and affect the activity of the nano-algae.
I only looked at it for more than ten seconds, then put it back again, and carefully closed the box.
"By the way, I heard you said so much before, what is your major? It shouldn't be chemistry or biology, right?" he asked casually.
Xue Kun nodded: "Actually, I have a Ph.D. in physics, and those who study nanotechnology are basically physicists. As for medicine and chemistry, you must have a good understanding of it, but I am mainly self-taught in this area."
"Wow!" Director Cui was shocked again: "You can be so strong just by self-study."
Xue Kun chuckled and said modestly: "The main reason is that Sanqing has sufficient experimental and academic environment, which allows us to learn by ourselves."
When it comes to professional content, Xue Kun seems to be unable to stop and continues talking about nanotechnology.
"I don't know if you have seen some science fiction movies. In these science fiction movies, nanorobots are a group of micro robots, carrying batteries, chips and other electronic devices, and also have a metal shell. In fact, nanorobots in reality That's not the case at all."
Director Cui nodded quickly, with a smile on his face: "Yes, I have watched a science fiction movie. I don't remember whether it was a movie or an animation. Anyway, there was a team of miniature doctors in it. They boarded a micron-scale submarine and entered In the blood of a wounded diplomat.”
"Although the blood fluctuations caused by every heartbeat of the diplomat put the submarine on the edge of capsizing at any time, and the body's immune cells also treated the submarine as an enemy and attacked crazily, the heroic protagonists were still able to control the submarine to save the day in the blood, and Finally eliminate the blood clot."
"When I watched this movie, it was quite interesting. I did imagine nanorobots to be robots similar to the Terminator, but now that I see Sanqing's nano pills, I realize that I thought too much."
Director Cui touched the stubble on his chin and said with some embarrassment.
Xue Kun laughed and said: "In fact, with the most sophisticated machining technology currently available to humans, it is still impossible to create a traditional robot that can swim inside the human body."
"So the materials used by nanorobots are various polymers, proteins and DNA molecules, but they are given special structures and functions through physical and chemical methods."
"In the medical field, in addition to drug delivery functions such as nanopills, nanorobots can also be used for disease monitoring and vascular tissue imaging. They are very versatile. In theory, nanorobots can treat all diseases in the future."
“It’s just that the current nanorobots are in the first generation. They only have engines and fuel, but no brain. They cannot be made intelligent through chips and programming, so they are still in a very primitive stage. Perhaps it is more appropriate to call them nanomotors. "
"The second generation of nanorobots will be assembled directly from atoms or molecules and will be able to perform complex tasks at the nanometer scale."
"The third generation of nanorobots is more powerful and will include artificial intelligence and nanocomputers. It is a smart device."
Director Cui couldn't help but widen his eyes again, with a look of disbelief mixed with a hint of leisurely fascination.
"I don't know how far technology has developed before nanorobots like this will be available."
Finally, he patted his thigh and said, "If there were such nanorobots, we doctors would probably lose our jobs. Hahaha."
Suddenly, there was a soft knock on the door.
"Director, the patient's family has signed and everything is ready." The nurse shouted at the door while knocking on the door.
"Here we come, Dr. Xue and I will be there soon." Director Cui quickly stood up and walked to the door.
"Indeed, after talking about it for a long time, it's time to treat the sick and save the people. It's a mule or a horse. It has to be pulled out for a run."
The last trace of nervousness in Xue Kun's heart was drained with the water in the glass.
He picked up the box and followed closely.
(End of chapter)
