The jet-propelled motors can swim though gastric acid by reducing hydrogen ions into hydrogen gas.
Image: ACS Nano
In a new study, researchers have developed a micromotor that can propel itself though the body to the stomach lining to deliver cargo.
While engineers have been developing micromotors for some time, it wasn’t until now that anyone has tested the device inside an animal. Researchers state that the results of this experiment show the potential of motorized particles to possibly improve the functions of nanoparticle drug carriers and imaging agents.
The micromotors were tested on mice to see the motor’s ability when delivering cargo to the stomach walls. Because the particles are jet-propelled, the researchers believed that they would be able to penetrate the layer of thick mucus that lines the stomach.