Nano-sized metal fish, carrying swimming drugs in the blood to the necessary position in the body

Less than 100 times smaller than sand grains, the head and tail are made of gold, the body is made of nickel, connected by silver, can carry drugs into the blood vessels, "swim" like fish to the correct position in the body to serve healing. That is the character and purpose of the nano-sized metal fish that researchers at the University of California have successfully developed. The only question now is to take the fish out of the body after using it and the research team says that it is developing a different version with the ability to decompose after it has expired.

The team said the fish's body is made up of two pieces of nickel, two ends connected to two pieces of gold that act as the head and tail fin of the fish. All details are connected by pieces of silver, each about 800 nanometers long. With the metal body, it is easy to guess that the fish will work based on the magnetic field. When putting the fish into a vibrating magnetic field, the part made of nickel will move back and forth, causing the head and tail to rise, creating a movement that pushes the fish forward. Speed ​​and direction of movement can be controlled by changing the force and direction of the magnetic field. It is known that the team is studying the possibility of applying fish to the medical field.

Speed ​​and direction of movement can be controlled by changing the force and direction of the magnetic field.

"We believe that fish can be useful for delivering drugs to complex areas of the body without invasive surgery. Just put a fish in a single cell, afterwards," they said. It uses external magnetic fields to directly control the fish ". Commenting on this study, researcher Justin Gooding at the University of New South Wales in Australia said: "This is an interesting idea. Previous groups have studied devices to put drugs into the body. , a proactive drug delivery device has only been studied recently and this work has proved that this approach is feasible ".

In fact, many researchers have been trying to develop nanoscale devices, micro-robots that have not only given drugs but even surgeries right inside the human body. The idea of ​​self-operating equipment is not yet available, but most use the type of movement inspired by the twisted tail of bacteria. And this time, the tests proved that the nano-fish movement is more efficient. However, the biggest question still remains is how to get the fish out of the body after use is finished? The group responded that they are developing a biodegradable nano-fish version so that the metallic components do not get stuck in the body after use.