Nanobot micromotors deliver medical payload in living creature for the first time

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margin-right: 9px;">SCIENCE</a> </div>  <h1 id="ar_title">Nanobot micromotors deliver medical payload in living creature for the first time</h1> <div class="summary_details_left"> <p>By <a href="/web/20150122053325/http://www.gizmag.com/author/colin-jeffrey/" rel="author">Colin Jeffrey</a></p> <p><em>January 21, 2015</em></p> </div> <div class="summary_details_right"> <div class="has_comments"><a href="nanobot-micromotors-deliver-nanoparticles-living-creature#comments">5 Comments</a></div> </div> </div> <div id="article_share_rail"> <div class="as_button"><div class="fb-like" data-href="http://www.gizmag.com/nanobot-micromotors-deliver-nanoparticles-living-creature/35700/" data-send="false" data-layout="box_count" data-show-faces="false"></div><script type="text/javascript">_ga.trackFacebook();</script></div> <div class="as_button"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150122053325/http://twitter.com/share" class="twitter-share-button" data-count="vertical" data-via="gizmag">Tweet</a></div> <div class="as_button"><div class="g-plusone" data-size="tall" data-href="http://www.gizmag.com/nanobot-micromotors-deliver-nanoparticles-living-creature/35700/"></div></div> <div class="as_button"><iframe style="overflow: hidden; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150122053325if_/http://badge.stumbleupon.com/badge/embed/5/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gizmag.com%2Fnanobot-micromotors-deliver-nanoparticles-living-creature%2F35700%2F" width="50" height="60" id="iframe-stmblpn-widget-1"></iframe></div> <div class="as_button"><div class="pin-it-button" data-url="https://web.archive.org/web/20150122053325oe_/http://www.gizmag.com/nanobot-micromotors-deliver-nanoparticles-living-creature/35700/" data-image="http://images.gizmag.com/hero/nanobot-micromotors-deliver-nanoparticles-living-creature.jpg" data-description="Micro-motor powered nanobots created by UC, San Diego researchers, and propelled by gas bubbles made from a reaction with the contents of the stomach in which they were deposited, have been successfully deployed in the body of a live creature for the very first time."></div></div> <div class="as_button"><script type="IN/Share" data-counter="top"></script></div> <div class="as_button" id="reddit_button_rail"><script type="text/javascript">reddit_newwindow='1'</script></div>  </div> <div id="hero_box"> <a id="hero_link" href="/web/20150122053325/http://www.gizmag.com/nanobot-micromotors-deliver-nanoparticles-living-creature/35700/pictures"> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150122053325im_/http://images.gizmag.com/hero/nanobot-micromotors-deliver-nanoparticles-living-creature.jpg" title="Micro-motor powered nanobots have delivered a nanoparticle compound directly into the gut ..." alt="Micro-motor powered nanobots have delivered a nanoparticle compound directly into the gut ..."/> </a> <div class="pic_caption"> <p>Micro-motor powered nanobots have delivered a nanoparticle compound directly into the gut tissue of a live mouse (Photo: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150122053325/http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=206165482" target="_blank">Shutterstock</a>)</p> </div> <div class="clear_both"></div> </div> <div class="article_body"> <div id="top_unit"></div> <p>Researchers working at the University of California, San Diego have claimed a world first in proving that artificial, microscopic machines can travel inside a living creature and deliver their medicinal load without any detrimental effects. Using micro-motor powered nanobots propelled by gas bubbles made from a reaction with the contents of the stomach in which they were deposited, these miniature machines have been successfully deployed in the body of a live mouse.</p> <p>The picayune robots used in the research were tubular, about 20 micrometers long, 5 micrometers in diameter, and coated in zinc. Once the mouse ingested these tiny tubes and they reached the stomach, the zinc reacted with the hydrochloric acid in the digestive juices to produce bubbles of hydrogen which then propelled the nanobots along like miniature rockets.</p> <p>Reaching speeds of up to 60 micrometers per second, the nanobots headed outwards toward the stomach lining where they then embedded themselves, dissolved, and delivered a nanoparticle compound directly into the gut tissue.</p> <p>According to the researchers, of all the nanobots deployed in the stomach of the mouse, those that reached the stomach walls remained attached to the lining for a full 12 hours after ingestion, thereby proving their effectiveness and robust nature.</p> <p>Further, after the mouse was eventually euthanized and the stomach was dissected and examined, the presence of the nanobots also showed no signs of raised toxicity levels or tissue damage. According to the researchers this was in line with their expectations, particularly given that zinc is effectively also a multipurpose nutrient.</p> <p>While nanobots have been used before on organic tissue – such as in the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150122053325/http://www.gizmag.com/nanoparticles-hepatitis-c-university-florida/23379/" target="_blank">destruction of the Hepatitis C virus</a> – and still others have been <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150122053325/http://www.gizmag.com/scallop-microbots-swim-body-max-planck/34589/" target="_blank">designed to be propelled using external forces</a> within a living creature, the University of California micromachines are the very first self-propelled, nanoparticle delivering nanobots ever. And it is this fact that makes the research team believe that its success so far merits further research and cites the fact that this is now the beginning of a proven method to deliver targeted drug administration.</p> <p>For everyone else, this is exciting technology that may well help to medically treat human beings in the not-too-distant future. Of course, this is early days in this research and a plethora of continuously successful tests will need to be run before it can even be considered by the likes of the US Food and Drug Administration to approve its use in people. But these first steps are vital in what may one day be a commonplace, targeted, and safe alternative to traditional high-dose medications.</p> <p>No announcement has been made regarding further tests or the possibility of human-based trials.</p> <p>The research was published in the journal <em><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150122053325/http://pubs.acs.org/doi/ipdf/10.1021/nn507097k" target="_blank">ACS Nano</a></em>.</p> <p>Source: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150122053325/http://ucsd.edu/" target="_blank">UC, San Diego</a></p>  <span class="title share_bar">Share</span> <div id="article_share_bar" class="dotsontop share_bar"> <div class="as_button fb_as_button"><div class="fb-like" data-href="http://www.gizmag.com/nanobot-micromotors-deliver-nanoparticles-living-creature/35700/" data-send="false" data-layout="box_count" data-show-faces="false" data-share="true"></div><script type="text/javascript">_ga.trackFacebook();</script></div> <div class="as_button"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150122053325/http://twitter.com/share" class="twitter-share-button" data-count="vertical" data-via="gizmag">Tweet</a></div> <div class="as_button"><div class="g-plusone" data-size="tall" data-href="http://www.gizmag.com/nanobot-micromotors-deliver-nanoparticles-living-creature/35700/"></div></div> <div class="as_button stumble_as_button"><iframe style="overflow: hidden; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150122053325if_/http://badge.stumbleupon.com/badge/embed/5/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gizmag.com%2Fnanobot-micromotors-deliver-nanoparticles-living-creature%2F35700%2F" width="50" height="60" id="iframe-stmblpn-widget-2"></iframe></div> <div class="as_button"><div class="pin-it-button" data-url="https://web.archive.org/web/20150122053325oe_/http://www.gizmag.com/nanobot-micromotors-deliver-nanoparticles-living-creature/35700/" data-image="http://images.gizmag.com/hero/nanobot-micromotors-deliver-nanoparticles-living-creature.jpg" data-description="Micro-motor powered nanobots created by UC, San Diego researchers, and propelled by gas bubbles made from a reaction with the contents of the stomach in which they were deposited, have been successfully deployed in the body of a live creature for the very first time."></div></div> <div class="as_button"><script type="IN/Share" data-counter="top"></script></div> <div class="as_button" id="reddit_button_bar"><script type="text/javascript">reddit_newwindow='1'</script></div>  </div>   <div id="fm-well-zone" data-cb-ad-id="Content Well 1"> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150122053325js_/http://static.fmpub.net/zone/7980"></script> </div> <div id="bottom_unit" data-cb-ad-id="Content Well 2"> <style> .article-bottom-responsive { width: 530px; height: 300px; } </style> <script async src="//web.archive.org/web/20150122053325js_/http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>  <ins class="adsbygoogle article-bottom-responsive" style="display:inline-block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-1607124478120364" data-ad-slot="6055296962"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script> </div>  <div style="margin-bottom: 20px"> <div class="OUTBRAIN" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150122053325oe_/http://www.gizmag.com/nanobot-micromotors-deliver-nanoparticles-living-creature/35700/" data-widget-id="AR_1" data-ob-template="Gizmag"></div> <script type="text/javascript" async="async" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150122053325js_/http://widgets.outbrain.com/outbrain.js"></script> </div> </div>  <span class="title clear_left" id="author_byline_title">About the Author</span> <div class="dotsontop" id="authorcontainer">  <a href="/web/20150122053325/http://www.gizmag.com/author/colin-jeffrey/"> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150122053325im_/http://images.gizmag.com/author_profiles/216.jpg" alt="Colin Jeffrey" id="bio_pic"/> </a>   Colin discovered technology at an early age, pulling apart clocks, radios, and the family TV. Despite his father's remonstrations that he never put anything back together, Colin went on to become an electronics engineer. Later he decided to get a degree in anthropology, and used that to do all manner of interesting things masquerading as work. Even later he took up sculpting, moved to the coast, and never learned to surf.   <a href="/web/20150122053325/http://www.gizmag.com/author/colin-jeffrey/">All articles by Colin Jeffrey</a> <span id="author_byline_links">    <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150122053325/http://twitter.com/ColinGJeffrey" class="twitter-follow-button" data-show-count="false" data-size="large">Follow @ColinGJeffrey</a> </span> <br class="clear_both"> </div>  <div id="tags"> <span class="title">Tags</span> <div class="dotsontop"> <ul> <li>» <a href="/web/20150122053325/http://www.gizmag.com/tag/microbots/" rel="tag">Microbots</a></li> <li>» <a href="/web/20150122053325/http://www.gizmag.com/tag/nanomotors/" rel="tag">Nanomotors</a></li> <li>» <a href="/web/20150122053325/http://www.gizmag.com/tag/nanoparticles/" rel="tag">Nanoparticles</a></li> <li>» <a href="/web/20150122053325/http://www.gizmag.com/tag/uc-san-diego/" rel="tag">UC San Diego</a></li> </ul> <div class="clear_both"></div> </div> </div> <div id="bing_unit"></div>  <span class="title" id="comments">5 Comments</span> <div class="dotsontop"> <div id="comment-361330" class="a_comment"> <p>Poor mouse must have had horrible stomach cramps! </p> <span class="name">Harriet Russell</span><br> <span class="date"> 21st January, 2015 @ 08:42 am PST</span> </div> <div id="comment-361354" class="a_comment"> <p>I do wish we could find a different way of testing that was less living creature dependent,but for now this is what we have been given.A family member with ALS died recently and all I hoped for was their ability to hang on long enough for a chance at a cure. </p> <span class="name">Dan Werner</span><br> <span class="date"> 21st January, 2015 @ 10:09 am PST</span> </div> <div id="comment-361357" class="a_comment"> <p>Regardez l'avenir. Look to the future! </p> <span class="name">Ernest Joseph Roberts</span><br> <span class="date"> 21st January, 2015 @ 10:17 am PST</span> </div> <div id="comment-361375" class="a_comment"> <p>This report is SERIOUSLY hyped. </p> <p></p> <p>The pretty picture at the top of the page makes it look like these are beautiful little machines with fins and sensors and stuff. It calls them robots. </p> <p></p> <p>NO! These are simple tubes - no electronics, no sensors, no communications, no manipulators, no guidance, no navigation. </p> <p></p> <p>They are essentially like a bottle-rocket, fired off in a random direction. </p> <p></p> <p>One of these things might *maybe* one day make a useful propulsion system for a microbot - but it's definitely not a robot itself. </p> <p></p> <p>This article is over-hyped beyond belief! </p> <p></p> <span class="name">SteveBaker</span><br> <span class="date"> 21st January, 2015 @ 11:50 am PST</span> </div> <div id="comment-361399" class="a_comment"> <p>Technically, the stomach is not the inside of the animal. Once again, a lot of misplaced hype for a little achievement. Science looks more and more like a reality show </p> <span class="name">ugosugo</span><br> <span class="date"> 21st January, 2015 @ 02:01 pm PST</span> </div> </div> <span class="title">Post a Comment</span> <div class="dotsontop" id="comment_form_div"> <div id="comment_form" data-article="35700"> <div id="comments_login"> <form action="/web/20150122053325/http://www.gizmag.com/index.php" name="login_form" id="login_form" onsubmit="return false;"> <p class="bold">Login with your gizmag account:</p> <p id="login_status"></p> <label for="email">Email</label><input type="text" name="email" id="email" value=""/> <label for="password">Password</label><input type="password" name="password" id="password" value=""/> <input type="submit" value="Log In" class="med"/> <div id="options"> <a href="/web/20150122053325/http://www.gizmag.com/register/">Register here</a><br> <a href="/web/20150122053325/http://www.gizmag.com/new_password/">Forgotten your password?</a> </div> <input type="hidden" id="expired_comment" value=""/> </form> </div> <div id="facebook_login"> <p>Or <span class="bold">Login with Facebook:</span></p><br/> <div class="fb-login-button" data-scope="email" data-max-rows="1" data-onlogin="loginFUser(35700);" data-autologoutlink="true"></div> </div> </div> <div class="clear_both"></div> </div>  <span class="title">Related Articles</span> <div id="related_articles" class="dotsontop"> <ul> <li data-id="21159"> <a href="/web/20150122053325/http://www.gizmag.com/bubble-propelled-microrocket/21159/" title="Scientists have created the first self-propelling, hydrogen-bubble-powered 'microrocket' c..." data-id="21159"> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150122053325im_/http://images.gizmag.com/related/gut-rocket.jpg" alt="Scientists have created the first self-propelling, hydrogen-bubble-powered 'microrocket' c..."/> </a> <a class="rel_title" href="/web/20150122053325/http://www.gizmag.com/bubble-propelled-microrocket/21159/">Hold onto your stomach - 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Nanobot micromotors deliver medical payload in living creature for the first time