Israeli researchers develop hybrid micro-robot to identify abnormal cells
After identifying the desired cell, the micro-robot captures it and moves it to a location where it can be analyzed
Researchers at Tel Aviv University have developed a hybrid micro-robot, the size of a biological cell, that can be controlled using electrical and magnetic mechanisms. The micro-robot is able to navigate between different cells in a biological sample, distinguish between different types of cells, identify whether they are healthy or diseased, and then transport the desired cell for further study, such as genetic analysis.
The micro-robot can also transfer a drug and/or gene into the targeted cell. According to the researchers, this development can help promote research in the field of "single cell analysis."
The innovative technology was developed by Professor Gilad Yossifon, from the School of Mechanical Engineering and the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Tel Aviv University, and his team: post-doctoral researcher Yue Wu and student Sivan Yakov, in collaboration with post-doctoral researcher Afu Fu from the Technion, the Israeli Institute of Technology. The research was published in the journal Advanced Science.
Professor Gilad Yossifon explained that micro-robots are tiny synthetic particles the size of a biological cell, which can move from one place to another and perform various actions autonomously or under the external control of an operator.
According to Professor Yossifon, "The development of the micro-robot's ability to move autonomously was inspired by biological micro-swimmers, such as bacteria and sperm cells. This is a rapidly developing area of innovative research, with a wide variety of uses in fields such as medicine and the environment, as well as a research tool."
To demonstrate the capabilities of the micro-robot, the researchers used it to capture blood and cancer cells, as well as a bacterium, and showed that it was able to distinguish between cells with different levels of viability, such as a healthy cell, a cell damaged by a drug, or a dying cell.
After identifying the desired cell, the micro-robot captures it and moves it to a location where it can be further analyzed.
The micro-robot's capability also allows it to identify target cells that are not labeled - the micro-robot identifies the type of cell and its status (such as degree of health) using a built-in sensing mechanism based on the cell's unique electrical properties.