The nanofactory is the standard proposed application for first generation molecular manufacturing, also known as molecular nanotechnology. Molecular manufacturing is a futuristic technology that would employ vast arrays of nano-level machine systems ("nanoassemblers") to synthesize macro-scale products using a process called convergent assembly.

New nanofactories

Nanofactories have been used to prevent bacterial infections and stop them from spreading, without the use of antibiotics by the researchers of A. James Clark School of Engineering. The nanofactories make use of tiny magnetic bits to guide them to the infection site. The new nanofactories are self-guided and targeted and are capable of finding a specific kind of bacterium and inducing it to communicate, a much finer level of automation and control. The new nanofactories can tell the difference between bad (pathogenic) and good bacteria.

Quorum sensing by bacterial cells

Nanofactories target the bacteria directly rather than traveling throughout the body, another advantage over traditional antibiotics. Bacterial cells have quorum sensing with each other in a form of cell-to-cell communication. When the cells sense that they have reached a certain quantity, an infection could be triggered. The biological nanofactories developed can interrupt this communication, disrupting the actions of the cells and shutting down an infection.
Mechanism

Alternatively, the nanofactories could trick the bacteria into sensing a quorum too early. Doing so would trigger the bacteria to try to form an infection before there are enough bacterial cells to do harm. This would prompt a natural immune system response capable of stopping them without the use of drugs. Because nanofactories are designed to affect communication instead of trying to kill the bacteria, they could help treat illness in cases where a strain of bacteria has become resistant to antibiotics.

Understanding the science of cells is wonderful, but then using these components and constructing systems that leverage biological advantages is a huge step forward. This work uses synthetic biology approach to build new nanofactories toward new areas of antimicrobials as well as opening new findings in quorum sensing. The nanofactories ability to alter cell-to-cell communication and signaling molecules is not limited to fighting infections, but are used to accomplish a lot of things, but could be used to start or increase communication instead of disrupting it.

For more details see:http://www.eng.umd.edu/news/news_story.php?id=4644