Intelligent drugs will soon be taking over common medicines. Researchers at the Eindhoven University of Technology are developing a new and smart way of , which would introduce the drug into the bloodstream through DNA computers. Experts argue that they are far more effective that general pills and will start functioning immediately unlike tablets, which take a specific time frame to show its effect on the concerned disease.
DNA is known to carry generic information and a DNA computer will be more specific in determining the exact point where the medicine should be delivered. Moreover, it is highly efficient in delivering medicine to specific points and can also identify antibodies and make calculations on their own.
However, there are some drawbacks with DNA computer. Firstly, to input the medicine the DNA computers will need DNA and RNA molecules. Secondly, it will require the researcher to put the exact treatment that is needed based on the antibodies found at the time of the disease. This method, carried out by biomechanical engineer Maarten Merx, has so far been successful.
Now, how does it work? In order to target the disease, information about the antibodies, which are present in the DNA, are placed into the computer. The computer then determines if a medicine is necessary for the disease and what will it be based on that information, reported the Eindhoven University of Technology's site.
The primary author of the study and Ph.D. student, Wouter Engelen, explains the process further. He says, by having a particular DNA, a series of reactions can be made that is needed for the DNA computer to work. Since the DNA computer can controls enzymes, it might be possible to control antibodies through it as well, he added.
As per the Science Daily report, the DNA computers can be used in illnesses such as rheumatism.
