A molecular computer using enzymes to perform calculations has been made by Israeli researchers, according to a report carried on the NewScientist website Thursday.

Itamar Willner, who has built the computer with colleagues at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel, expressed his belief that the enzyme-powered computers could eventually be implanted into human body and used to monitor the release of drugs to a specific person's metabolism.

The researchers used two enzymes - glucose dehydrogenase (GDH) and horseradish peroxidase (HRP) - to trigger two interconnected chemical reactions, the report said.

Two chemical components - hydrogen peroxide and glucose - were used to represent input values (A and B), it explained. The chemical result of the enzyme-powered reaction was determined optically, it added.

Enzymes are already widely used to assist calculations using specially encoded DNA, according to the report.

The DNA computers have the potential to surpass the speed and power of existing silicon computers because they can perform many calculations in parallel and pack a vast number of components into a tiny space.

Willner, however, says his computer is not designed for speed. Instead, he envisages it eventually being incorporated into bio-sensing equipment and used, for example, to monitor and react to a patient's response to particular dosages of a drug.

"This is basically a computer that could be integrated with the human body," Willner said. "We feel you could implant an enzyme computer into the body and use it to calculate an entire metabolic pathway."

Source: Xinhua