Nanorobots in the vitreous body
Predatory plants helped nanorobots move inside the eye
Sergey Kuznetsov, N+1
For the first time, scientists were able to make magnetic field–controlled nanorobots slip through the dense substance of the vitreous body of the eye, which in the future can help in the treatment of many eye diseases - from diabetic retinopathy to glaucoma, according to an article published in Science Advances (Wu et al., A swarm of slippery micropellers penetrates the vitreous body of the eye).
Until now, such nanorobots could only move in biological fluids or model systems, but not in real tissues.
Ophthalmologists often face the need to inject medications into the vitreous body - a transparent protein substance that fills the eye. Traditional methods of spot administration of drugs make it relatively easy to get to the front of the eye, however, it is not necessary to count on the passive "seeping" of active substance molecules through the vitreous body into the back of the eye, its substance is too dense. It also does not make sense to inject medications for the eye into the bloodstream, since the hemato-retinal barrier will not let them through.
Researchers from Germany, Denmark and China, led by Peer Fischer from the Institute of Intelligent Systems of the Max Planck Society, tried to solve this problem using magnetic nanobots – nanoparticles whose movement can be controlled using an external magnetic field.
They created spiral structures made of silicon dioxide and nickel with a "head" with a diameter of 500 nanometers and a length of 2 microns – this approximately corresponds to the size of the grid cells of hyaluronic macromolecules (500 nanometers), of which the vitreous body consists.
Ready-made nanorobots. Drawings from the press release of the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems Nanorobots propel through the eye - VM.
But the main secret of nanorobots was a special sliding coating based on perfluorocarbons, which scientists "spied" in carnivorous plants of the genus Nepenthes. The hunting "pitchers" of these predatory plants are covered with a very slippery layer of a substance that does not allow the victim to get out of the trap. From other natural coatings, for example, those that cover lotus leaves, perfluorocarbon also differs in resistance to pressure and mechanical damage.
Scheme of the experiment with nanorobots
During the experiment, scientists filled a syringe with water containing nanorobots, and then injected it into a pig's eye. Then, under the influence of a magnetic field with an induction of about 8 millitesla, the nanorobots began to move in the vitreous body at a speed of about 10 microns per second. As a result, the nanorobots were able to successfully cover a distance of about 1 centimeter and reach the retina of the eye, and their movement could be easily controlled.
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