Spermatozoa as Functional Components of Robotic Microswimmers

Magdanz, Veronika; Medina‐Sánchez, Mariana; Schwarz, Lukas; Xu, Haifeng; Elgeti, Jens; Schmidt, Oliver G.

doi:10.1002/adma.201606301

Cited by 137 publications

(126 citation statements)

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“…Self-propelled biological structures are very intriguing due to their ability to adapt and swim in complex environments by their independent propelling systems [27]. Sperms, as a type of motile cells whose main function is the fertilization of an oocyte, are one of the most powerful natural microswimmers.…”

Section: Cells/microorganisms As Propellersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, they can be controlled precisely using external sources such as magnetic fields, ultrasound or light [20]. For example, they have been used to isolate cells [21], perform microbiopsies [22], sense proteins [23], ligands or other molecules of interest, deliver drugs or even help sperms with motion deficiencies to reach the oocyte, all in vitro [24][25][26][27]. Nonetheless, it is worth noting that the use of these new systems entails additional difficulties, such as their control and visualization in deep tissue in real time [28].…”

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confidence: 99%

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Micro- and nano-motors: the New Generation of Drug Carriers

2018

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Micro-and nano-motors are emerging as novel drug delivery platforms, offering advantages such as rapid drug transport, high tissue penetration and motion controllability. They can be propelled and/or guided by endogenous (i.e., chemotaxis) or exogenous stimuli (e.g., ultrasound, magnetic fields, light) toward the area of interest. Moreover, such stimuli can be used to trigger the release of a therapeutic payload when the motor reaches certain location in order to improve the drug targeting. In this review article, we highlight medically oriented micro-/nano-motors, in particular the ones created for targeted drug delivery, and discuss their current limitations and possibilities toward in vivo applications. Drug-delivery systems have greatly evolved since 1952, when the first sustained release systems were introduced (see the graphical abstract) [1]. In the 1980s, self-regulated drug release carriers as well as the first drug delivery nanostructures were developed. From then on, research in this field has been focused on improving the targeting and systemic circulation of those carriers as well as to study different nanoparticle-based drug formulations, topics which have been widely reviewed in the literature [2][3][4][5][6][7]. Several nanocarriers (between 5 and 200 nm diameter) have been explored for therapy (e.g. inorganic, polymeric, liposomes, nanocrystals, nanotubes and dendrimers) [8], many of them already approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat, for example, neurovascular diseases, neurological cancers and neurodegenerative maladies [9]. The study of their pharmacokinetics has led to the creation of new carriers with reduced drug dose and protection from efflux or degradation [10]. Most of these nanocarriers include sophisticated surface biofunctionalization and coatings like polyethylene glycol (PEG) [11] or biomimetic modifications, [12] to increase their specificity and circulation time [13]. However, challenges still remain for those carriers such as the improvement of their targeting (currently only about 0.7% -median -of the administrated nanoparticle dose is found to be delivered to a solid tumor [14]), their penetration ability, drug loading capacity and delivery on the subcellular level. Other type of drug carriers are the cellular ones, which have many advantages such Graphical abstract:

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Section: Cells/microorganisms As Propellersmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

Micro- and nano-motors: the New Generation of Drug Carriers

2018

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“…[22,23] These hybrid robots utilize primarily the biological propulsion of the sperm as the power source. [24] Upon completion of our work, a related study was published describing the use of sperm cells for drug delivery. [25] However, the natural intelligence of sperm cells, particularly their intrinsic chemotactic characteristics, [26] has not been explored yet.…”

Section: Doi: 101002/adbi201700160mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The FSFSMs are not subject to the significant speed loss experienced by hybrid sperm motors guided by magnetic structures, and offer considerable advantages such as improved biocompatibility and simple fabrication process. [24,29] The concept of guiding and transporting synthetic nanoscale payloads via the intrinsic chemotactic movement of natural sperm carriers could pave the way for the development of smart and environmentally responsive micro/nanoscale vehicles that can autonomously navigate along chemical gradients.…”

Section: Doi: 101002/adbi201700160mentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemotactic Guidance of Synthetic Organic/Inorganic Payloads Functionalized Sperm Micromotors

et al. 2017

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The preparation and operation of free swimming functionalized sperm micromotors (FSFSMs) as intelligent self‐guided biomotors with intrinsic chemotactic motile behavior are reported. The natural sperm biomotors are functionalized with a wide variety of synthetic nanoscale payloads, such as CdSe/ZnS quantum dots, doxorubicin hydrochloride drug coated iron‐oxide nanoparticles, and fluorescein isothiocyanate‐modified Pt nanoparticles via endocytosis. The FSFSMs display efficient self‐propulsion in various biological and environmental media with controllable swarming behavior upon exposure to a chemical attractant. As a new class of environmentally responsive smart biomotors, the control of the FSFSM speed is achieved by varying the solution osmolarity that leads to different flagellar lengths. High drug loading capacity and responsive release kinetics are obtained with such sperm biomotors. The transport of synthetic cargo can be guided by the intrinsic chemotaxis of the FSFSMs. The chemotactic characteristics, speed control mechanism, and responsive payload release of the FSFSMs are investigated. Such use of free swimming functionalized sperm cells as intelligent microscale biomotors offers considerable potential for diverse biomedical and environmental applications.

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“…Electro-optical polymer based devices are another area of study which has been taking advantage of the MPM as a powerful characterization method [9]. Moreover, recent studies showed the ability of utilizing MPM in three dimensional micro-fabricated devices including sensors, waveguides, photonic structures, and biomedical devices, using various types of light sensitive polymers [10][11][12][13][14][15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

All-reflective multiphoton microscope

et al. 2017

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Abstract:We present the design, construction, and characterization of a multiphoton microscope that uses reflective elements for beam shaping and steering. This compact all reflective design removes the adverse effects of dispersion on laser pulse broadening as well as chromatic aberration in the focusing of broadband and multicolored laser sources. The design of this system is discussed in detail, including aberrations analysis via ray-tracing simulation and opto-mechanical design. The resolution of this mirror based all-reflective microscope is characterized using fluorescent microbeads. The performance of the system at multiple wavelengths is investigated along with some potential multiphoton imaging and writing applications. Nelson, and S. Pané, "Hybrid Helical Magnetic Microrobots Obtained by 3D Template-Assisted Electrodeposition," Small 10(7), 1284-1288 (2014). 15. T. Gissibl, S. Thiele, A. Herkommer, and H. Giessen, "Two-photon direct laser writing of ultracompact multilens objectives," Nat. Photonics 10(8), 554-560 (2016). 73-76 (1990). 17. E. E. Hoover and J. A. Squier, "Advances in multiphoton microscopy technology," Nat. Photonics 7(2), 93-101 (2013). 18. K. Kieu, S. Mehravar, R. Gowda, R. A. Norwood, and N. Peyghambarian, "Label-free multi-photon imaging using a compact femtosecond fiber laser mode-locked by carbon nanotube saturable absorber," Biomed. Opt. Express 4(10), 2187-2195 (2013). 19. N. G. Horton and C. Xu, "Dispersion compensation in three-photon fluorescence microscopy at 1,700 nm,"Biomed. Opt. Express 6(4), 1392-1397 (2015). 20. I. D. Tullis, S. M. Ameer-Beg, P. R. Barber, V. Rankov, and B. Vojnovic, "Mapping femtosecond pulse front distortion and group velocity dispersion in multiphoton microscopy," Proc. SPIE 6089, 60890Y (2006). 21. W. Wang, Y. Liu, P. Xi, and Q. Ren, "Origin and effect of high-order dispersion in ultrashort pulse multiphoton microscopy in the 10 fs regime," Appl. Opt. 49(35), 6703-6709 (2010). 22. M. D. Young, J. J. Field, K. E. Sheetz, R. A. Bartels, and J. Squier, "A pragmatic guide to multiphoton microscope design," Adv. Opt. Photonics 7(2), 276-378 (2015). 23. J. Y. Yu, C. S. Liao, Z. Y. Zhuo, C. H. Huang, H. C. Chui, and S. W. Chu, "A diffraction-limited scanning system providing broad spectral range for laser scanning microscopy," Rev.

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Spermatozoa as Functional Components of Robotic Microswimmers

Cited by 137 publications

References 135 publications

Micro- and nano-motors: the New Generation of Drug Carriers

Micro- and nano-motors: the New Generation of Drug Carriers

Chemotactic Guidance of Synthetic Organic/Inorganic Payloads Functionalized Sperm Micromotors

All-reflective multiphoton microscope

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