Molecular communications

Nature uses messenger substances to transfer information. Engineer Robert Schober and a number of research groups are investigating from a number of different perspectives how this can be put to good use for medical treatments and in engineering.

In modern communications engineering or for example in medical diagnosis using computer and magnetic resonance tomography, information is generally transferred using electromagnetic waves. “Electromagnetic waves, however, rapidly reach their limits in the tissue of humans and animals,” explains Robert Schober. “We would like to overcome these barriers using biological signaling pathways.”

The engineer is holder of the Chair of Digital Communications at FAU and speaker of the research training group “Synthetic molecular communications across different scales” (SyMoCADS). This project funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) intends to expand technical transmission of information into living organisms based on the considerably smarter methods that evolution has developed over the course of millions of years: “In biology, information is often transferred via molecules,” Schober explains.  “Following this model, we would like to use biological mechanisms, hormones and pheromones, signaling molecules and odorants for purposes such as fighting cancer more effectively.”

Hens’ eggs for tumor research

Cancer research and the extremely difficult treatment of these insidious diseases clearly indicates how important and even life-saving biological communication is. The cause and basis for malignant tumors are cells from the affected person’s own organism. Often, cancer is not detected in time. Surgery can remove a significant part, but more often than not it fails to remove all the dangerous tumor cells. Targeting these for elimination is always similar to walking a tight rope: As they function just like normal cells in many areas in the body, measures taken against tumor cells can also easily damage healthy tissue.

One way of avoiding the dilemma between promising cancer treatments and dangerous side effects are measures that are specifically targeted to attack the remaining tumor cells. “This is particularly effective if you understand how the cancer cells communicate with the rest of the organism,” explains Robert Schober. “Until now, research in this area has only been possible using animal testing.” In order to change that, a project from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) set to run until 2026 is looking into an alternative approach: Together with Silke Härteis and her group from the University of Regensburg and a team from the Deggendorf Institute of Technology, a group at the FAU Chair of Digital Transmission is using hens’ eggs to keep cancerous tissue alive in order to be able to examine it in greater detail.

“In this system, it is possible to observe how and in which ways substances reach the tumorous tissue,” explains Robert Schober. In the first step, dyes are introduced into the blood vessel system in the hens’ eggs, and the researchers plot how they spread. Once these connections are understood, it is easier to design substances that can later find their way independently to a cancer cell in a patient’s body, causing as few side-effects as possible.

Directed to the target using magnets

The DFG research training group SyMoCADS is not only focusing on biological communication, however. They also hope that magnetic fields will be able to help direct cancer medicines to the required spot. For this purpose, the active agent is attached to super paramagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles. When this combination is injected into blood vessels, the Section of Experimental Oncology and Nanomedicine (SEON) at Uniklinikum Erlangen can then use a strong magnet attached to a mechanic arm to guide the substance to the cancer tumors. Experiments in animals have already demonstrated that this method works well with tumors located near the surface of the body.

The mechanical engineering laboratory at FAU may play an important role in improving this approach to treatment. That may sound rather surprising at first, but it actually does make sense: In order to fight a tumor as effectively as possible, the magnetic nanoparticles with the active substance must be able to travel through the blood vessels to their target. That is a real challenge in such a complex system with at times tiny capillaries. The SyMoCADS sub-project therefore examines such tumors in detail and then reproduces them in transparent plastic using 3D printers. These models show how the guiding algorithms developed by the Department of Electrical Engineering at FAU during another project can be put to use in practice.

If the tumor is located deeper inside the organism, it is important first of all to determine its exact position before commencing treatment. A SyMoCADS project group from the area of bioprocess engineering is using “vesicles” for this purpose, tiny biovessels that are already used in other areas as mini bioreactors. Thanks to a clever design and fitted out with suitable active substances, these biovessels are not only able to find a tumor, but can also communicate exactly where it is located. Using these vessels, substances for cancer treatment can then be accurately transported to their target before being released exactly where they are required.

Another project at the FAU Chair of Digital Transmission involves calculating the optimal design for these micro biovessels to ensure they work as effectively as possible. “Pooling resources from such different disciplines is an extremely promising approach, not only in cancer research, but also in a wide range of other scientific areas,” explains Robert Schober.

Several minds behind the research

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Prof. Dr.-Ing. Robert Schober

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Robert Schober holds the FAU Chair of Digital Transmission and is speaker of the research training group “Synthetic molecular communications across different scales” (SyMoCADS).

Prof. Dr. Silke Härteis

Prof. Dr. Silke Härteis from the Institute for Molecular and Cellular Anatomy at the University of Regensburg is speaker of the BMBF project “Innovative test platform for molecular communication and microsurgical training – fluorescence systems, innovative protheses and technologies”.

Dr.-Ing. Maximilian Schäfer

Dr.-Ing. Maximilian Schäfer from the Chair of Digital Transmission is in charge of the BMBF project for molecular communication at FAU.

Prof. Dr. med. Christoph Alexiou

Prof. Dr. med. Christoph Alexiou holds the endowed professorship from the Else-Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung at Uniklinikum Erlangen. There he is in charge of the Section of Experimental Oncology and Nanomedicine (SEON) and is therefore also responsible for the super paramagnetic nanoparticles used for SyMoCADS.

Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Dr. habil. med. Stefan Lyer

Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Dr. habil. med. Stefan Lyer is FAU Professor of AI guided nanomaterials, is in charge of the Department of Oncology and Imaging at SEON and is responsible for some of the imaging for SyMoCADS.

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dietmar Drummer

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dietmar Drummer holds the Chair of Polymer Technology in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at FAU and is in charge of SyMoCADS project 6, that develops plastic tumor models.

Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Dr. phil. Jens Kirchner

Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Dr. phil. Jens Kirchner is in charge of SyMoCADS project 5, that develops control algorithms used to guide magnetic nanoparticles to take the active substances to their target for fighting cancer. He has just moved from the FAU Institute of Electronics Engineering to the Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts.

Prof. Dr. Kathrin Castiglione

Prof. Dr. Kathrin Castiglione holds the FAU Chair of Bioprocess Engineering, is the speaker for SyMoCADS and is in charge of project 1, which develops bioreactors at the micro scale that are capable of carrying active substances to tumors.

Author: Roland Knauer

This article is part of the FAU magazine

Innovation, diversity and passion: Those are the three guiding principles of our FAU, as stated in our mission statement. At FAU, we live these guiding principles every day in all that we do – in research, in teaching and when it comes to sharing the knowledge created at our university with society.

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