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How to Improve Spermbot Performance
Author(s) -
Magdanz Veronika,
MedinaSánchez Mariana,
Chen Yan,
Guix Maria,
Schmidt Oliver G.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.201500015
Subject(s) - materials science , nanotechnology , microcontact printing , biomolecule , biocompatible material , surface modification , nano , biomedical engineering , mechanical engineering , composite material , medicine , engineering
Spermbots are biocompatible hybrid machines that consist of microtubes which are propelled by single spermatozoa and have promising features for powering nano and microdevices. This article presents three approaches on how to improve the performance of such spermbots. First, 20 μm microtubes produce faster spermbots compared to the previously reported 50 μm long microtubes. Furthermore, biofunctionalization by microcontact printing and surface chemistry of biomolecules on the inner tube surface improve the coupling efficiency between sperm cell and microtube, and the addition of caffeine results in a speed boost of the sperm‐driven micromotor.