Technology is evolving with time. Our lives have become dependent on electronic gadgets to such an extent that we cannot live without it. Today our life is getting revolved around technological developments and their applications. Right from beginning our day and ending it with a sleep, we actively control it with the help and support of electronic gadgets. Smartphones, gadgets, television, fitness equipments, food processor, alarm clock, etc… aid us in carrying our day to day activities. Today technology has advanced to such an extent that there is an altogether new stream which talks about the usage of proteins in electronic devices.
Protein Could Form The Heart of New Electronic Gadgets!
There is a new paper that has been recently presented and posted in the database of arXiv. The paper talks about a new technology called proteotronics. Proteotronics is the combination of proteins plus electronics. The stream deals with the study, research and development of electronic circuits by utilizing proteins as plug in part. Researchers and scientist have been aggressively studying on this stream in order to bring it closer to electronic gadgets. As per the research, it has been found that proteins are unique in their own manner. They have electrical properties which run a current into it and react with different proteins in varied ways. The paper on the study of Proteotronics has been written and presented by three engineers from Italy who collectively works as one team. They even mentioned that one of the proteins also work like a switch (source: The Physics arXiv Blog reports). They tested this by running a current via protein which is known as OR – 17. This protein is generally present in rats’ noses. It is known as aldehydes. Aldehydes can react to fruit like smelling chemicals. This team of researchers found out that OR – 17 brings out different properties from itself after it gets in touch with different concentrations of aldehyde. It is known as octanal.
The question here is about usage of protein switch. Protein switch can be used in those electronic detectors that detect contaminants in air pollutants, water, chemical symptoms in people, etc… This can be tested by undertaking a small experiment as well. The person can take any protein and react it with desirable chemical. Then there will be a creation of protein electrical change. This change can be easily measured and analyzed. This way, a protein based electronic detector gets created. This experiment can also turn out to be a novel approach to the recent inventions done by researchers in the form of electronic noses. However, there will be one challenge which needs to be overcome by protein based devices. That is, these protein based devices have to strive hard to find a way in which they can bind the delicate proteins. It is essential to keep itself functional and intact within a silicon gadget.