The tiny and flexible, human sperm are getting a high-tech upgrade soon. The researchers at the TechMed Centre of the University of Twente have transformed agile, fast-swimming sperm into tiny, magnetically controlled microrobots that can be tracked and steered inside a life-sized anatomical model.
Sperm cells are nature’s remarkable swimmers. Their primary role is to navigate the complex environment of the female reproductive tract to reach and fertilize an egg.
Each sperm is streamlined for speed, with a tail that propels it forward and a head that carries genetic material.
Their small size and natural flexibility allow them to maneuver through highly challenging biological environments, a feature researchers are now leveraging for medical applications.
Beyond reproduction, sperm cells’ inherent mobility and adaptability make them promising candidates for microrobotics, enabling scientists to explore new ways of delivering drugs and performing diagnostics in hard-to-reach areas of the body.
One major challenge in using sperm for medical applications has been their invisibility under conventional imaging techniques. Traditional X-ray imaging struggles to detect sperm due to their tiny size, low density, and near transparency to radiation.
This limitation has, until now, prevented scientists from observing or controlling sperm inside the human body with precision.
To overcome this, the University of Twente team collaborated with researchers and medical professionals from Radboud University Medical Center and the University of Waterloo (Canada).
"Until now, visualizing sperm inside the body was nearly impossible," said UT researcher Islam Khalil, who is also the lead author of the study.
They coated real sperm cells with magnetic nanoparticles, which made them visible under X-ray and responsive to external magnetic fields.
This innovative approach allows the microrobots to be tracked in real time and steered accurately within a life-sized anatomical model, marking a breakthrough in medical microrobotics.
The potential applications of this technology are wide-ranging. By loading drugs directly into the sperm cell bodies, researchers envision precise delivery to targeted locations such as the uterus or fallopian tubes.
This could revolutionize treatments for conditions like uterine cancer, endometriosis, or fibroids, all of which currently lack precise, minimally invasive drug delivery options.
"We’re turning nature’s own cell delivery systems into programmable microrobots," said Khalil.
Beyond therapy, tracking sperm movement in real time could shed light on the biological processes of fertilization, improve understanding of unexplained infertility, and even refine assisted reproductive techniques like in vitro fertilization (IVF).
Safety is also a key consideration. Tests have shown that the sperm-nanoparticle clusters remain biocompatible, causing no significant toxicity to human uterine cells even after 72 hours of exposure. This suggests that future in-vivo applications may be feasible.
The team published their findings in the open-access journal npj Robotics.
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