Washington, Sep 8 (IANS) Combining artificial devices with bio-machines could significantly boost the operating efficiency of laptops and other electronic items.
Lawrence Livermore National Lab (LLNL) researchers have devised a versatile hybrid platform that uses lipid-coated nanowires to build prototype bio-nano-electronic devices.

“Electronic circuits that use these complex biological components could become much more efficient,” said Aleksandr Noy, the LLNL lead scientist on the project.

“But with the creation of even smaller nanomaterials that are comparable to the size of biological molecules, we can integrate the systems at an even more localised level,” Noy said.

Mingling biological components in electronic circuits could enhance bio-sensing and diagnostic tools, advance neural prosthetics such as cochlear implants, and could even increase the efficiency of future computers.

While modern communication devices rely on electric fields and currents to carry the flow of information, biological systems are much more complex.

They use an arsenal of membrane receptors, channels and pumps to control signal transduction that is unmatched by even the most powerful computers.

For example, conversion of sound waves into nerve impulses is a very complicated process, yet the human ear has no trouble performing it.

While earlier research has attempted to integrate biological systems with microelectronics, none have gotten to the point of seamless material-level incorporation, said an LLNL release.

To create the bio-nano-electronic platform, the LLNL team turned to lipid membranes, which are ubiquitous in biological cells. These membranes form a stable, self-healing and virtually impenetrable barrier to ions and small molecules.

Julio Martinez, University of California-Davis (UC-D) graduate student and study co-author added: “Besides some preliminary work, using lipid membranes in nanoelectronic devices remains virtually untapped.”

The research will appear in the Thursday online version of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.