3D-Printed Microscopic ‘Fish’ Could Clean Toxins From Our Blood

Scientists have created 3D-printed microscopic ‘fish’ that could be used to detoxify blood from within the human body.

The tiny smart microbots are smaller than the width of a human hair, allowing them to ‘swim’ within the bloodstream, and have been produced using a new 3D-printed technique devised by Nanoengineers at the University of California, San Diego.

The fish-shaped microbes contain nanoparticles in their tails that propel them forward when they react with hydrogen peroxide, while magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles in the heads enables them to be steered with magnets.

“We have developed an entirely new method to engineer nature-inspired microscopic swimmers that have complex geometric structures and are smaller than the width of a human hair.

“With this method, we can easily integrate different functions inside these tiny robotic swimmers for a broad spectrum of applications,” said the co-author of the study Wei Zhu, a nanoengineering Ph.D. student at the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego.

The tiny robotic ‘fish’ could also potentially be used for delivering drugs around the body.

According to the researchers, the fish-based microbots could be just the start of a range of microscopic robots based on real life creatures, designed to be used in the human body.

“With our 3D printing technology, we are not limited to just fish shapes. We can rapidly build microrobots inspired by other biological organisms such as birds,” said Zhu.

(Image credit: UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering)

H/T: Engadget