Neutrobots in vivo
Leukocytes were turned into microbots controlled by a laser
Ekaterina Petrova, PCR.news
Chinese researchers have learned how to control blood neutrophils with a laser. They tried to manipulate such cells, which they called "neutrobots", in the tails of danio fish. Ordinary neutrophils were forced to move against the blood flow, penetrate through the vessel wall, move and absorb objects and interact with each other.
Microbots are supposed to be used in medicine, for example, for targeted drug delivery or the destruction of pathogens. However, most of the devices that are currently being developed in laboratories are made of synthetic materials and cause an immune reaction. Scientists from China have tried to work around this problem: they did not build synthetic microbots, but found a way to control neutrophils already familiar to the body in vivo. Neutrophils are the most numerous group of lymphocytes, they can penetrate through the walls of blood vessels, absorb foreign inclusions and damaged cells.
Previously, researchers have already turned neutrophils into "neutrobots": they directed and moved them in laboratory cups using highly focused laser beams (optical tweezers). In a new study, the team tried to control light neutrobots in the tails of live danio fish. The researchers changed the position of the neutrophils with high accuracy, caused their directional movement, rotation and dynamic deformation. The light—controlled microbots moved at a speed of 1.3 microns/s - three times faster than a normal neutrophil.
By cyclic stretching of the neutrophil with two laser beams, the authors were able to induce the formation of pseudopodia (pseudopodia) in a given direction, thereby switching the neutrophil into an activation state. The optical power can facilitate the migration of activated neutrophils through biological barriers, for example, through the vessel wall. At the same time, the neutrophil retains its biological functions and can be modified for drug delivery.
In the vessels of the tail of the danio fish, scientists directed activated neutrobots both through the bloodstream and against it. They also moved neutrobots through the wall of a blood vessel into surrounding tissues and forced them to bind and transport a plastic nanoparticle. And when the neutrobot collided with the remnants of burst red blood cells, it absorbed them.
With the help of lasers, you can simultaneously manipulate several neutrophils and arrange them. For example, the authors placed three neutrophils at the vertices of a right triangle, and then adjusted it to an isosceles triangle. In addition, the scientists managed to modulate the intercellular connection between two neutrophils.
The authors believe that laser-controlled neutrobots could one day be used to solve complex medical problems.
Article by Liu et al. Optically Manipulated Neutrophils as Native Microcrafts In Vivo is published in the journal ACS Central Science.
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