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Sperm Power: New Tool for Nanobots

Tracy Staedter, Discovery News

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Dec. 26, 2007 -- Scientists have taken the first steps in reproducing the biological engine that powers a sperm's tail and modified it for use in nano-sized devices.

The tiny biological machine is something like a car engine that uses fuel to generate motion.

Only this machine -- composed of 10 carefully arranged enzymes -- runs on natural sugars, using them to produce an high-energy molecule called adenosine triphosphate, or ATP for short.

In the case of sperm, ATP energizes the tail. But it could also be used in nanorobots that do everything from activate drug-delivery pumps to manufacture missing enzymes necessary for healthy bodily functions.

"We're taking what sperm have already figured out how to do and using it for a nanotechnology application," said Alex Travis, assistant professor of reproductive biology at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine in Ithaca, NY.

The enzyme engine was particularly interesting to Travis and his team because, unlike most enzymes that like to stick to squishy cellular matter, these like to stick to the rigid, fibrous structure inside a sperm tail. This can be important for artificial applications.

Enzymes bend, twist and rotate as part of their normal functions. Many enzymes, put inside a manufactured nanobot, would not attach to the device properly. But the sperm tail enzymes naturally work on rigid surfaces; the trick is getting them to stick to manmade devices.

To do that, the researchers changed a part of the enzyme that lets it attach to the fibrous tail structure so that it would attach to nickel ions on a manufactured chip.