Team:HKU-HKBU/Application

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Contents

Applications

Overview

Our version of 'Bactomotor' is only a preliminary one. But the idea of using the mechanical forces generated by microorganisms to do useful work is thrilling and will have great implications in many fields of future applications. Although forces generated by a single bacterium counts little, the concentration of forces generated by a population of bacteria can actually make a great difference. Motors powered by living organisms can have numerous advantages over the conventional electronic devices that are powered by batteries. The advantages are concluded as follows:

  1. The size of the motor can be reduced to a much smaller scale. The motor are available to many applications that involve microscale manipulation.
  1. The bacteria-powered motor is genetically manipulated.


The key is to develop a better interface between the microorganisms and the non-living device that can concentrate and forces and serves as a motion rectifier.

Clinical medicine and surgery

Bactomotor can assist in the endarterectomy of small-caliber blood vessels beyond the reach of conventional cardiac catheters. Artherosclerosis of small-caliber blood vessels is the cause of idiopathic myocardial ischemia in middle-aged women. By injecting Bactomor into the target vessel with the injection of aTc which induces Chez expression, Bactomotor clears the lipid obstruction by its physical movement.

Zero-pollution energy source

Sponsors