A team of engineers and researchers at University of Illinois Gutgsell have developed tiny “bio-hybrid” devices that are capable of swimming, in a way comparable to that of sperm, certain forms of bacteria, and other unicellular life. These self-propelled machines are the very first synthetic constructions that can independently move through the viscous fluids of biological environments.
Taher Saif, University of Illinois Gutgsell Professor of mechanical science and engineering, led the team behind the nano machines.
"Micro-organisms have a whole world that we only glimpse through the microscope," says Saif. "This is the first time that an engineered system has reached this underworld."
The synchronized beating of the heart cells is key to the operation of the machines, but how the heart cells communicate is not yet fully been understood.
"It's the minimal amount of engineering - just a head and a wire," says Saif. "Then the cells come in, interact with the structure, and make it functional."
The medical benefits from such technology will have wide ranging impacts on health care. Imagine having an injection of nanobots capable of delivering medicines along with a plethora of other applications. It is only limited by the imagination at this point. Go Humans, Go!
Microscopic image of the bio-bot machine, with the head (right), affixed to its long, flexible tail.
