Drug delivery in blood stream using 3D printed microfish.

The "microfish" created by a team of researchers at the University of California San Diego, who claimed they can print hundreds of the tiny robots in seconds. This 3D-printed robots in the shape of small fish may one day be able to swim through bloodstreams, delivering drugs to the human body and removing toxins. The study, published in Advanced Materials, shows the robots measure just 120 microns long by 30 microns thick -- making them smaller than the width of a human hair. The microfish are made with platinum nanoparticles in their tails which, when they come into contact with hydrogen peroxide, causes their tails to move. Tiny iron oxide particles in their heads also allow the robot shoal to magnetically steer themselves. The research showed the microfish could both sense toxins and work as detoxifying robots. Their bodies glowed a fluorescent red color when placed in contaminated liquid as a result of toxic-neutralizing particles reacting to the poison.more