Author: @madridbg, through Power Point 2010, using public domain images.
Technological diversity has generated constant changes in the way we see, understand and analyze our environment, we have come to develop unimaginable technological processes that aim to improve our quality of life.
In this installment, we will study the use of a sophisticated mechanism that coordinates bacteria and nanotechnologies, generating robotic microorganisms that manage to transform carbon dioxide into organic substances harmless to our planet, on the other hand, allows the development of organic compounds that can serve as raw materials in the manufacture of fuels and medicines.
Fig. 2. Nanotechnology applied to scientific processes. Author:Sureshbup
A team of chemists from the University of California have succeeded in establishing a hybrid composed of nanotechnological and biological material (bacteria), which manages to synthesize water, organic molecules and oxygen by capturing solar energy and carbon dioxide. Structurally, the hybrid is composed of highly thin nanowires made of silicon, which resemble human hair and are responsible for transporting the information that the bacteria have to fulfill.
The results obtained have been encouraging and surprising and are projected as a mechanism used to allow its implementation in future expeditions on Tuesday, due to the high concentrations of carbon dioxide (96%) in the atmosphere of this planet, where in the opinion of Angela Chan:
"All you need are these silicon semiconductor nanowires to absorb the solar energy and transmit it to the bacteria to carry out the chemical processes."
Fig. 3. Representation of the photosynthetic process. Author: Markéta Machová
Undoubtedly, it is a sophisticated mechanism with promising scientific and environmental applications, since due to the actions of man the concentration of carbon dioxide has exceeded the planetary carrying capacity, researchers show that in pilot tests the hybrid is capable of transforming up to 3.6% of the solar energy it receives converting it into carbon storage in the form of acetate, which would function as building blocks of organic substances present in fuels, medicines, plastics, among others.
The project is based on the natural photosynthetic process, where plants capture solar radiation and transform it into energy, carbohydrates and water, if we analyze both systems we realize that the efficiency of the process exceeds that of plants, which synthesize only 0.5% of the carbon dioxide present, except for the sugar cane species which has an efficiency of 4 to 5%.
Undoubtedly, the process becomes a surrounding laboratory, where a set of chemical processes that support it are carried out, including the absorption of electrons that allows the transformation of carbon dioxide molecules into acetate and water, as if it were a plant.
For their part, the silicon nanowires behave like an antenna that captures photons from solar energy, generating electrons that will feed the bacteria, where the mechanism is constantly repeated, generating results that surprise the researchers themselves.
Fig. 4. Representation of the behavior of nanowires. Author: Saumitra R Mehrotra & Gerhard Klimeck
So we will be attentive to future results in this regard, since from my perspective this technology is the beginning towards planetary recovery, so if you have found this information timely I invite you to leave your contribution in the comments section.
BIBLIOGRAPHY CONSULTED
[1] Charles W. Schmidt. Synthetic biology. The implications of a new field for environmental health. Environmental Health Perspectives, volume 118, number 3, March 2010, pages A118-A123. Article: Online Access
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Hi dear friend @madridbg
This is a great technological advance, I hope it brings many benefits to humanity, I am happy with this type of news. I believe that we are on our way to having a better and more advanced world.
regards
Hi @ramsesuchiha, as a man of science I am happy to know that this type of inventiveness is being developed which combines biological species with technological advances and the best thing is that it is a function of improving environmental problems on our planet. Thanks for stopping by and leaving your comment.