Microrobot delivered drugs into the stomach of a live mouse

These are “engines” of nanobots, a white stripe - 5 microns

Now scientists at the University of California at San Diego have published an interesting paper about their last year’s achievement: the delivery of certain substances into the stomach of a mouse using a micro-robot as a means of transport. Last year, scientists gave dozens of mice a small drop of liquid, a very specific liquid: inside each drop there were microrobots invisible to the eye.

These microrobots consisted of zinc, and the chemical reaction of the material with gastric acid served as a means of movement. During the reclamation, microbubbles of hydrogen were formed, and pushing such a “transport” forward. In 7 minutes, such a robot covered a distance of 2.5 centimeters.

The goal was simple - go into the stomach, infiltrate the wall and release the cargo: a tiny piece of gold (gold was chosen so that it could be easily detected, because it does not dissolve in the mouse's stomach).
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This is the notorious microrobot

After the “medicine” was delivered to the stomachs of mice, the scientists killed them (such is the fate of most laboratory animals), and examined the tissues to detect possible negative effects of the work of their nanobots. As it turned out (6 hours after the introduction of nanobots with liquid drops), there are no problems in the mice’s body. Gastric walls are normal, gold particles are delivered to the right place.



Such microbots can be used to deliver certain substances to certain parts of the human body - for example, to a tumor, or parts of any organs and tissues. This method of drug administration allows to achieve the point of delivery of the desired substances in the right places. Now, large doses of drugs are injected into the patient's body, which are distributed throughout the body, and only indirectly act on "their" organs or tissues. The research and work itself is still in its early stages, but scientists hope to soon present an improved method of drug delivery.