{{Short description|Hypothetical artificial red blood cells}} {{Notability||date=June 2017}}{{Refimprove | date = June 2017 }}
'''Respirocytes''' are hypothetical, microscopic, artificial red blood cells that are intended to emulate the function of their organic counterparts, so as to supplement or replace the function of much of the human body's normal respiratory system. Respirocytes were proposed by Robert A. Freitas Jr in his 1998 paper "A Mechanical Artificial Red Blood Cell: Exploratory Design in Medical Nanotechnology".<ref name=ref2>{{cite journal|author=Robert A. Freitas Jr.|title=Exploratory Design in Medical Nanotechnology: A Mechanical Artificial Red Cell|journal=Artificial Cells, Blood Substitutes, and Immobil. Biotech.|number=26|year=1998|pages=411–430}}</ref>
Respirocytes are an example of molecular nanotechnology, a field of technology still in the very earliest, purely hypothetical phase of development. Current technology is not sufficient to build a respirocyte due to considerations of power, atomic-scale manipulation, immune reaction or toxicity, computation and communication.
== Structure of a respirocyte ==
Freitas proposed a spherical robot made up of 18 billion atoms arranged as a tiny pressure tank, which would be filled up with oxygen and carbon dioxide.<ref name =REF1>{{cite web|title=RESPIROCYTES – IMPROVING UPON NATURE'S DESIGN: BREATHE EASY WITH RESPIROCYTES|url=http://www.thenanoage.com/respirocytes.htm}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=June 2017}} <ref name =REF4>{{cite journal|title=Nanotechnology – The New Frontier of Medicine|year=2006|pmc=4922842|last1=Datta|first1=R.|last2=Jaitawat|first2=S.|journal=Medical Journal, Armed Forces India|volume=62|issue=3|pages=263–268|doi=10.1016/S0377-1237(06)80016-X|pmid=27365690}}</ref> ==Uses== In Freitas' proposal, each respirocyte could store and transport 236 times more oxygen than a natural red blood cell, and could release it in a more controlled manner.<ref name =REF1/>
Freitas has also proposed "microbivore" robots that would attack pathogens in the manner of white blood cells.<ref>{{cite book | last = Kurzweil | first = Ray | author-link = Ray Kurzweil | title = The Singularity Is Near | pages = 254 }}</ref>
== See also == * Artificial cell * Biotechnology * Blood substitute * Oxycyte * Synthetic biology
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.foresight.org/Nanomedicine/Respirocytes.html Respirocytes] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110709021600/http://www.foresight.org/Nanomedicine/Respirocytes.html |date=2011-07-09 }} at [http://foresight.org foresight.org]
Category:Synthetic biology Category:Blood cells Category:Hypothetical technology Category:Blood substitutes