Uncorking of arteries

DailyTechInfo based on Discovery Materials: Corkscrew Nanobots Drill Though Blocked ArteriesTraditional methods of removing plugs in blocked arteries are quite complex operations in which elastic stents or pneumatic inflatable probes are used to expand the blocked area of the blood vessel.

However, not so long ago, an international group of scientists began working, which is developing an alternative method for removing plugs in blood vessels. And the key point of this method will be tiny nanorobots, coiled into a spiral like a corkscrew, which will literally "drill" and destroy the cork material.

The aforementioned research group has recently been joined by scientists from Drexel University, who have contributed in the form of several unique developments. Now the group consists of 11 participants representing various universities and scientific institutions. And, thanks to the efforts of such a large and diverse group, a method for removing traffic jams will be developed, clinical trials of which can be started in two or three years.

The technology being developed will work as follows – a chain of bonded nanoscale iron oxide beads will be injected into the patient's bloodstream through a catheter. The beads, held together by chemical bonds and the forces of magnetism, will represent a tiny nanorobot. An external magnetic field with certain parameters will cause each of the beads to turn at a certain angle, as a result of which the chain will take the form of a spiral, a corkscrew, which, rotating along the longitudinal axis, will be able to move in a sufficiently viscous medium of blood plasma.

By controlling the parameters of the external magnetic field, scientists will be able to direct nanorobots to the blocked area of the blood vessel. After that, tiny corkscrews, having screwed into the cork material, will pierce it, and with a successful combination of circumstances, completely destroy it, unblocking the path to the blood flow. This process is copied from the principle of action of the bacteria that cause Lyme's Disease. These bacteria, which have a spiral shape, move in a similar way to nanorobots, damaging all the tissues of the body along the way.

"The nanorobots we are developing will not cause a reaction of the body's immune system," says MinJun Kim, director of the BASTLab laboratory (Biological Actuation, Sensing & Transport Laboratory), "This will be achieved due to certain sizes of nanobots and the properties of their surface. Various types of materials from which nanobots will be made will allow doctors to eliminate arterial plugs of various types. And as soon as the blood flow is restored, the external magnetic field will be turned off and the chains will straighten out, turning into completely harmless structures that will be removed from the body naturally. In addition, anticoagulant drugs can be enclosed inside the nanobots' micro beads, which will prevent the possibility of a re-occurrence of a traffic jam in the same place."

"Existing methods of removing chronic traffic jams that completely block blood circulation in individual arteries are successful only in 60 percent of cases," says Minjun Kim, "We believe that the method we are developing will raise the success rate of treatment to 80-90 percent and reduce the rehabilitation time after treatment."

And in conclusion, it should be noted that the program to create nanorobots for removing arterial plugs was initiated by the Government of South Korea, and the first and leading participant in this program was the Korea KEIT Institute (Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technologies).

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13.07.2015