Good Evening All. My name is Alex Kelly and this is my spiel on Nanotechnology
and namely its use in the creation of functioning blood substitutes.
I hope to answer some of the major questions surrounding this field, and
suggest a few of my own for you to ponder.
So first of all, What is Nanotechnology?
Nanotechnology is the creation of functioning devices at the molecular level,
working at a scale of nanometres or ten to the power of negative nine metres.
What is an artificial red blood cell?
And artificial red blood cell, or 'respirocyte,' is one form of blood substitute
currently being researched in order to reduce reliance on blood donations,
increase the number of situations in which a blood transfusion can take place,
(such as on a battlefield) and also to boost the performance and abilities of
the human race.
So how can we use Nanotechnology to create artificial red blood cells?
Well currently only theoretical, a respirocyte is a robotic cell comprised
of nano-sized components.
It would contain an internal pressure of a thousand atmospheres of compressed
oxygen
and carbon dioxide,
can take safety within two separate high-pressure containers.
They would power themselves on glucose already in the bloodstream and manage
carbonic activity
through an onboard computer utilizing chemical and pressure sensors.
Also, due to their tiny proportions an expected advance is in 3D nano-scale
fabrication. The manufacture of respirocytes would be very cost effective.
So how do red blood cells work in comparison with their artificial counterparts and what
are the limiting factors associated with hemoglobin?
Red blood cells function due to the special properties of hemoglobin: a molecule that is
specifically designed to carry oxygen,
taking it from where there is a high concentration - the lungs -
and depositing it where there is a low concentration -
the capillaries -
while doing the opposite with the potentially toxic carbon dioxide.
A respirocyte however, functions without the need for this molecule.
Instead it would use specially-designed rotors and filters to regulate the movement
of oxygen, carbon dioxide and glucose through the machine.
While red blood cells are limited by the oxygen carrying capacity of hemoglobin,
which is only four oxygen molecules,
the artificial cells have no such problem.
With the suggested potential to carry up to two hundred and thirty six times this.
So how are we limited by today's current technology and where do we go from here?
Currently scale's the only major limiting factor stopping us,
while smaller and smaller robots have been created each year,
there's still many years of progress needed to
go before we're able to create functioning systems of this size.
And many more involved in the design and testing of the rotor and filter structure
to ensure absolute safety for humans.
If there are going to be millions of these inside of us they had better be safe.
So why do we want to do this? What benefits would this bring to the human race?
Well first of all, there would no longer be a donor shortage.
Hopefully the advancements in the production of blood substitutes will reduce
the need for donating blood,
as it can be a painful process and many regular donations are needed
to keep up with demand,
as you can see on the screen right now.
I do however highly recommended that until we can inject you with a bunch of
robots,
that you come down to donate because we are truly
in need of donations and you are truly saving someone's life.
Many countries have improper blood screening, often because they cannot
afford it, and as such an affordable and sterile blood source will protect many
from infection.
In Nigeria, the second most common source of HIV Aids infection
is blood transfusion and even in the most advanced hospitals there is still no
screening for mad cow disease as it is a prion disease.
People from the Jehovah's Witnesses sect will also be able to undergo surgery for the
first time,
despite their religion prohibiting the receiving of blood from another.
The much higher oxygen carrying capacity of the artificial red blood
cells will essentially give an extra ten to twenty minutes to someone who
experiences a heart attack,
as their cells use up the oxygen stored in their designer blood.
This will give them time to call an ambulance and wait patiently for the
paramedics to arrive and restart their heart
and take them to hospital for re-evaluating.
Additionally there will also be some other major game changes. For example, the
capacity of super- blood cells will allow someone who is as unfit as me
to run at top speed for up to fifteen minutes or to sit underwater for four hours
on just a single breath
Another group greatly affected will be divers -
they will be able to dive for many hours on a single breath, while avoiding
getting the bends or narcosis. Both of which are caused by breathing compressed air under
water.
While currently only science fiction like so much in the field of
Nanotechnology, respirocytes are the future of the human circulatory system.