About two years ago we reported on the concept of a biological nanofactory that comprises multiple functional modules: a targeting module specifically targets cells; a sensing module senses and transports raw materials that are present in their vicinity; a biosynthesis module converts raw materials to useful molecules, transport them back to the cell surface, and self-destructs upon completion of this sequence (self-destruct module).
Scientists at the University of Maryland have now demonstrated what was conceptualized in this earlier vision. Moreover they have added a quality that was not originally conceived - the nanofactory needs to have modalities that enable its own assembly. The scientists used the principles of synthetic biology to create the enzyme pathway that has as a part of it an assembly domain. Then, they used 'biofabrication' to assemble antibodies on to the synthesis domain, which enables targeting.