Nanotech has been focused on creating artificial hemoglobin, eyelet cells and antibodies and so on and the thought has occurred to me that there are a few cells that might be easier than others to synthesis. One being mitochondria.
The reason I am suggesting this and I can make a couple of approaches involving different methodologies is that it might be easier than we imagine. I raised the question i the SENS discussion but I would like to invite a few of the leading nanomedical researcher to our forum to discuss this approach and I have already begun an outreach to Mike Treder at the CRN.
If this idea grows wings I would also like to see it formalized at the conference for a designated discussion.
Anyway as we are decrypting both the complete genomic and proteomic structure, function and integrative operation of mitochondria is it possible to consider a synthetic nanotech alternative for mitochondria, which could be manufactured externally to the body (as opposed to self assembled and implies a different set of problems but is also a separate possibility)?
Since we are close to possessing the full molecular composition of mitochondria, understand its biological role in the cell, are able to decode its isomeric structure and DNA *code* as well as its interactivity in cellular metabolism it seems to me that this proposal has a lot going for it to start with.
Obviously there is still a lot of room for investigatory R&D but the target parameters are all rationally obtainable within a relatively short time horizon (decade(s). Proteomics being one area that is garnering a lot of interest at this very moment.
I am curious of the perception of this problem and I intend to refine this question a bit but would love to hear some feedback on this nanomedical approach. I would also like to suggest a chimera.
As a second question: Could we create a xenotransplantation model for mitochondria that could use a surrogate species (unknown for the moment) for culturing mitos with target mtDNA from a specific host to initialize the repair process and produce harvestable mitochondria that could then be transferred to a recipient utilizing the various insertion techniques that are being developed?
I am putting this over here in nanotech because the discussion is about nanotech but will overlap the methodologies of developing a *synthetic* variant of mitochondria and also for alternative *synthetic* approaches for producing mitochondria that could be DNA matched to a host's mtDNA.
I must say I have been absolutely fascinated reading the dialog in the SENS discussion and when this idea came to me I thought it would be great to parallel track that discussion with a multidisciplinary approach that could allow the kind of interactivity between these two fields which may provide further ideas and incentives for both. Remember from my perspective at least genetics is nanotech anyway.
So all you bio-researchers please feel free to describe all the reasons this idea can't work and I will now try and invite some informed medical nanotech researchers to take the counter point.