Spermbots Could Deliver Drugs or Fertilize Eggs

Jan-18-14 Remote-controlled ‘sperm bots’ could one day provide an alternative to in-vitro fertilization, as well as deliver drugs and methods of gene manipulation.

The tiny robots were developed in part to meet the need of creating a microrobot that uses a safe source of fuel to propel itself through the body. The team, from Dresden Institute for Integrative Nanosciences, was inspired by ability of the flagella of a sperm cell to act as a biological motor. The team first trapped live bovine sperm cells in tiny, conical magnetic tubes, locking them in mechanically. The sperm pushed the tubes forward as they swam about, and the magnetic properties of the tubes allowed the researchers to steer the sperm with a magnetic field from outside the body.

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[DISCOVERY.COM]
[DRESDEN INSTITUTE]

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