Microscopic swimming devices offer drug delivery potential

UK researchers have created tiny swimming devices that could have numerous applications in the field of drug delivery.

Developed by engineers at the University of Sheffield, the spherical bead-like devices are around a hundredth of the average diameter of a strand of human hair and can be guided by physical structures while swimming inside fluids.

They incorporate a catalytic coating on one side, creating a chemical reaction when fuel molecules are added that cause the devices to move automatically on a pre-determined route, using natural structures as a guide.

As such, these devices could be used to deliver drugs to a specific location inside the body, or outside of the body to diagnose diseases in blood samples. For example, they could be utilised to find proteins indicating cardiac problems, or to identify circulating tumour cells indicating the spread of cancer.

Potential applications beyond the field of medicine include navigating cracks in rocks to direct environmental cleanup and exploration operations.

Dr Stephen Ebbens, department of chemical and biological engineering at Sheffield, said: "We are now working on applications for using these devices in the body, in the shorter term focusing on using them for medical diagnosis."