Swimming Devices Could Deliver Drugs Inside the Body
December 3, 2015 | University of SheffieldEstimated reading time: 1 minute
Engineers at the University of Sheffield have discovered that tiny spherical bead-like devices can be guided by physical structures while swimming inside fluids. This opens up a wealth of future possibilities, such as using structures in the body to guide drug delivery, or cracks in rocks to direct environmental clean-up and exploration.
These devices, which are a similar size to cells and bacteria -- around a hundredth of the average diameter of a strand of human hair -- could be used to deliver drugs to a specific location inside the body or outside of the body to diagnose diseases in blood samples. Examples include finding proteins indicating cardiac problems or looking for circulating tumour cells that can indicate the spread of cancer.
When working with devices on a micron scale, it's very challenging to produce motion from moving parts due to the properties of the fluid -- it's similar to humans trying to run through treacle. Previous research has focused on using external magnetic fields to guide the devices, but this requires constant observation so that the device can be guided manually.
The research conducted at Sheffield uses a new method, giving the devices a catalytic coating on one side, which creates a chemical reaction when fuel molecules are added, causing the device to move automatically on a pre-determined route, using natural structures as a guide.
Dr Stephen Ebbens, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Sheffield, said: "When you're dealing with objects on such a small scale, we found that although our method of moving the devices using a coating and chemical reaction worked very effectively, it was difficult to control its direction, due to other molecules in the fluid jostling it.
"We've been working on ways to overcome this and control the movement of the devices along a path using physical structures to direct them.
"We are now working on applications for using these devices in the body, in the shorter term focusing on using them for medical diagnosis"
In addition to medical applications, these devices could be used in other fields, such as to locate indicators of contamination in environmental samples or to deliver neutralising chemicals to areas affected by oil spills, by using crevices in rocks as the structural guide.
Suggested Items
DOCOMO, NTT, NEC and Fujitsu Develop Top-level Sub-terahertz 6G Device
04/12/2024 | JCN NewswireNTT DOCOMO, INC., NTT Corporation, NEC Corporation and Fujitsu Limited jointly announced today the development of a top-level (1) wireless device capable of ultra-high-speed 100 Gbps transmissions in the 100 GHz and 300 GHz sub-terahertz bands.
Scientists Propose a New Way to Search for Dark Matter
04/02/2024 | SLAC National Accelerator LaboratoryEver since its discovery, dark matter has remained invisible to scientists, despite the launch of multiple ultra-sensitive particle detector experiments around the world over several decades.
INSPECTIS Offers Slider Plate Stand for Optical Inspection
04/01/2024 | INSPECTISINSPECTIS introduces a new specialized slider stand capability for repetitive optical inspection tasks, for example, for the production of special devices such as stents.
Ambiq Apollo510 Delivers 30x Power Efficiency Improvement to Unleash Endpoint AI
03/27/2024 | AmbiqAmbiq, a technology leader in exceptionally energy-efficient semiconductors for IoT devices, is introducing the new Apollo510, the first member of the Apollo5 SoC family, which is uniquely positioned to kickstart the age of truly ubiquitous, practical, and meaningful AI.
Commercial Demand Continues to Be the Main Driver of Personal Computing Device Shipments into the GCC Region
03/26/2024 | IDCThe Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) personal computing device (PCD) market, which is made up of desktops, notebooks, and workstations, declined 4.0% year on year in 2023, with high inventory levels and reduced consumer spending the primary causes.