Bron: Society of Chemical Industry (SCI)
In the future, the moth antennae could be genetically hacked to sense other smells, say the researchers, such as the volatile chemicals from an unexploded improvised explosive device, or a gas leak.
Competing against a typical sensor in a wind tunnel experiment, the antenna-equipped drone reacted more quickly to a floral scent and took less time to recover between puffs. The researchers dubbed it ‘the smellicopter.’ Cells in the moth antenna detect and amplify chemical signals and then generate an electrical response, measured by wires inserted into the antenna (Bioinspir. Biomim. 2020, 16, 026002). ‘Then we run that through customised circuitry, which amplifies that signal,’ explains Melanie Anderson, a PhD student in mechanical engineering at the University of Washington.
The antennae were removed from Manduca sexta hawkmoths, previously anaesthetised in a fridge. They remained chemically and biologically active for up to four hours. The smellicopter was naturally tuned to head towards smells the moth finds interesting, such as floral scents.
‘The reason we use living tissue is because of its superb sensitivity, speed of reaction and high specificity,’ says group leader Thomas Daniel at Washington. ‘There is no synthetic sensor that can match the chemical sensing in terms of sensitivity.’
The team is to now collaborate with sensory neurobiologist Jeff Riffell, also at Washington, who has previously gene edited mosquitoes, with a focus on chemical sensing genes. This part of the project starts in January 2021 and is funded by the Air Force Center of Excellence on Nature-inspired Flight Technologies and Ideas. It will look to genetically manipulate the odour sensing capabilities of the moth antennae.