The kind of energy that drives sperm may be harnessed to power nano-scale robots to deliver medication to targeted sites in the body, Cornell University researchers said at the American Society for Cell Biology's 47th annual meeting this week.
By breaking down the individual steps in the biological pathway that sperms use to generate energy, the researchers plan to reproduce that pathway for use in a human-made device.
A midsection between the head and the long tail of sperm contains mitochondria, organelles that generate a cell's power. But sperm have also developed a second energy source to power their long tail. They employ a process known as glycolysis, which breaks down glucose which cells use for energy.
The researchers still trying to re-create this glycolytic pathway by modifying each protein's targeting domain so that they can instead bind to nickel ions on a manufactured chip. The researchers hope additional funding would complete attaching the rest of the enzymes in the glycolysis pathway.
"We have a provisional patent, so if a company shows interest, we could also work something out with them," said lead researcher Alex Travis, Cornell assistant professor of reproductive biology at the College of Veterinary Medicine's Baker Institute for Animal Health.
By breaking down the individual steps in the biological pathway that sperms use to generate energy, the researchers plan to reproduce that pathway for use in a human-made device.
A midsection between the head and the long tail of sperm contains mitochondria, organelles that generate a cell's power. But sperm have also developed a second energy source to power their long tail. They employ a process known as glycolysis, which breaks down glucose which cells use for energy.
The researchers still trying to re-create this glycolytic pathway by modifying each protein's targeting domain so that they can instead bind to nickel ions on a manufactured chip. The researchers hope additional funding would complete attaching the rest of the enzymes in the glycolysis pathway.
"We have a provisional patent, so if a company shows interest, we could also work something out with them," said lead researcher Alex Travis, Cornell assistant professor of reproductive biology at the College of Veterinary Medicine's Baker Institute for Animal Health.
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