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Rajabasadi F, Moreno S, Fichna K, Aziz A, Appelhans D, Schmidt OG, Medina-Sánchez M. Multifunctional 4D-Printed Sperm-Hybrid Microcarriers for Assisted Reproduction. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2022; 34:e2204257. [PMID: 36189842 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202204257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2022] [Revised: 09/02/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Remotely controllable microrobots are appealing for various biomedical in vivo applications. In particular, in recent years, our group has focused on developing sperm-microcarriers to assist sperm cells with motion deficiencies or low sperm count (two of the most prominent male infertility problems) to reach the oocyte toward in-vivo-assisted fertilization. Different sperm carriers, considering their motion in realistic media and confined environments, have been optimized. However, the already-reported sperm carriers have been mainly designed to transport single sperm cell, with limited functionality. Thus, to take a step forward, here, the development of a 4D-printed multifunctional microcarrier containing soft and smart materials is reported. These microcarriers can not only transport and deliver multiple motile sperm cells, but also release heparin and mediate local enzymatic reactions by hyaluronidase-loaded polymersomes (HYAL-Psomes). These multifunctional facets enable in situ sperm capacitation/hyperactivation, and the local degradation of the cumulus complex that surrounds the oocyte, both to facilitate the sperm-oocyte interaction for the ultimate goal of in vivo assisted fertilization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fatemeh Rajabasadi
- Micro- and NanoBiomedical Engineering Group (MNBE), Institute for Integrative Nanosciences, Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research (IFW), 01069, Dresden, Germany
- Bioactive and Responsive Polymers, Leibniz Institute for Polymer Research, 01069, Dresden, Germany
- Research Center for Materials, Architectures, and Integration of Nanomembranes (MAIN), Chemnitz University of Technology, 09126, Chemnitz, Germany
| | - Silvia Moreno
- Bioactive and Responsive Polymers, Leibniz Institute for Polymer Research, 01069, Dresden, Germany
| | - Kristin Fichna
- Bioactive and Responsive Polymers, Leibniz Institute for Polymer Research, 01069, Dresden, Germany
| | - Azaam Aziz
- Micro- and NanoBiomedical Engineering Group (MNBE), Institute for Integrative Nanosciences, Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research (IFW), 01069, Dresden, Germany
| | - Dietmar Appelhans
- Bioactive and Responsive Polymers, Leibniz Institute for Polymer Research, 01069, Dresden, Germany
| | - Oliver G Schmidt
- Micro- and NanoBiomedical Engineering Group (MNBE), Institute for Integrative Nanosciences, Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research (IFW), 01069, Dresden, Germany
- Research Center for Materials, Architectures, and Integration of Nanomembranes (MAIN), Chemnitz University of Technology, 09126, Chemnitz, Germany
- Institute for Integrative Nanosciences, Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research (IFW), 01069, Dresden, Germany
- Nanophysics, Faculty of Physics, School of Science, Dresden University of Technology, 01062, Dresden, Germany
| | - Mariana Medina-Sánchez
- Micro- and NanoBiomedical Engineering Group (MNBE), Institute for Integrative Nanosciences, Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research (IFW), 01069, Dresden, Germany
- Chair of Micro- and NanoSystems, Center for Molecular Bioengineering (B CUBE), Dresden University of Technology, 01062, Dresden, Germany
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Zhou H, Dong G, Gao G, Du R, Tang X, Ma Y, Li J. Hydrogel-Based Stimuli-Responsive Micromotors for Biomedicine. CYBORG AND BIONIC SYSTEMS (WASHINGTON, D.C.) 2022; 2022:9852853. [PMID: 36285306 PMCID: PMC9579945 DOI: 10.34133/2022/9852853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2022] [Accepted: 09/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
The rapid development of medical micromotors draws a beautiful blueprint for the noninvasive or minimally invasive diagnosis and therapy. By combining stimuli-sensitive hydrogel materials, micromotors are bestowed with new characteristics such as stimuli-responsive shape transformation/morphing, excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability, and drug loading ability. Actuated by chemical fuels or external fields (e.g., magnetic field, ultrasound, light, and electric field), hydrogel-based stimuli-responsive (HBSR) micromotors can be utilized to load therapeutic agents into the hydrogel networks or directly grip the target cargos (e.g., drug-loaded particles, cells, and thrombus), transport them to sites of interest (e.g., tumor area and diseased tissues), and unload the cargos or execute a specific task (e.g., cell capture, targeted sampling, and removal of blood clots) in response to a stimulus (e.g., change of temperature, pH, ion strength, and chemicals) in the physiological environment. The high flexibility, adaptive capacity, and shape morphing property enable the HBSR micromotors to complete specific medical tasks in complex physiological scenarios, especially in confined, hard-to-reach tissues, and vessels of the body. Herein, this review summarizes the current progress in hydrogel-based medical micromotors with stimuli responsiveness. The thermo-responsive, photothermal-responsive, magnetocaloric-responsive, pH-responsive, ionic-strength-responsive, and chemoresponsive micromotors are discussed in detail. Finally, current challenges and future perspectives for the development of HBSR micromotors in the biomedical field are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huaijuan Zhou
- Advanced Research Institute of Multidisciplinary Sciences, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Guozhao Dong
- School of Medical Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Ge Gao
- School of Medical Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Ran Du
- School of Materials Science & Engineering, Key Laboratory of High Energy Density Materials of the Ministry of Education, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Xiaoying Tang
- School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Yining Ma
- Department of Forensic Science, Jiangsu Police Institute, Nanjing 210031, China
| | - Jinhua Li
- School of Medical Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
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Nano/Micromotors in Active Matter. MICROMACHINES 2022; 13:mi13020307. [PMID: 35208431 PMCID: PMC8878230 DOI: 10.3390/mi13020307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2022] [Revised: 02/12/2022] [Accepted: 02/15/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Nano/micromotors (NMMs) are tiny objects capable of converting energy into mechanical motion. Recently, a wealth of active matter including synthetic colloids, cytoskeletons, bacteria, and cells have been used to construct NMMs. The self-sustained motion of active matter drives NMMs out of equilibrium, giving rise to rich dynamics and patterns. Alongside the spontaneous dynamics, external stimuli such as geometric confinements, light, magnetic field, and chemical potential are also harnessed to control the movements of NMMs, yielding new application paradigms of active matter. Here, we review the recent advances, both experimental and theoretical, in exploring biological NMMs. The unique dynamical features of collective NMMs are focused on, along with some possible applications of these intriguing systems.
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Jurado-Campos A, Soria-Meneses PJ, Sánchez-Rubio F, Niza E, Bravo I, Alonso-Moreno C, Arenas-Moreira M, García-Álvarez O, Soler AJ, Garde JJ, Fernández-Santos MDR. Vitamin E Delivery Systems Increase Resistance to Oxidative Stress in Red Deer Sperm Cells: Hydrogel and Nanoemulsion Carriers. Antioxidants (Basel) 2021; 10:1780. [PMID: 34829650 PMCID: PMC8615287 DOI: 10.3390/antiox10111780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2021] [Revised: 10/25/2021] [Accepted: 11/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Oxidative stress has become a major concern in the field of spermatology, and one of the possible solutions to this acute problem would be the use of antioxidant protection; however, more studies are required in this field, as highly contradictory results regarding the addition of antioxidants have been obtained. Vitamin E is a powerful biological antioxidant, but its low stability and high hydrophobicity limit its application in spermatology, making the use of organic solvents necessary, which renders spermatozoa practically motionless. Keeping this in mind, we propose the use of hydrogels (HVEs) and nanoemulsions (NVEs), alone or in combination, as carriers for the controlled release of vitamin E, thus, improving its solubility and stability and preventing oxidative stress in sperm cells. Cryopreserved sperm from six stags was thawed and extended to 30 × 106 sperm/mL in Bovine Gamete Medium (BGM). Once aliquoted, the samples were incubated as follows: control, free vitamin E (1 mM), NVEs (9 mM), HVEs (1 mM), and the combination of HVEs and NVEs (H + N), with or without induced oxidative stress (100 µM Fe2+/ascorbate). The different treatments were analyzed after 0, 2, 5, and 24 h of incubation at 37 °C. Motility (CASA®), viability (YO-PRO-1/IP), mitochondrial membrane potential (Mitotracker Deep Red 633), lipid peroxidation (C11 BODIPY 581/591), intracellular reactive oxygen species production (CM-H2DCFDA), and DNA status (SCSA®) were assessed. Our results show that the deleterious effects of exogenous oxidative stress were prevented by the vitamin E-loaded carriers proposed, while the kinematic sperm parameters (p ˂ 0.05) and sperm viability were always preserved. Moreover, the vitamin E formulations maintained and preserved mitochondrial activity, prevented sperm lipid peroxidation, and decreased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production (p ˂ 0.05) under oxidative stress conditions. Vitamin E formulations were significantly different as regards the free vitamin E samples (p < 0.001), whose sperm kinematic parameters drastically decreased. This is the first time that vitamin E has been formulated as hydrogels. This new formulation could be highly relevant for sperm physiology preservation, signifying an excellent approach against sperm oxidative damage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandro Jurado-Campos
- SaBio IREC (CSIC—UCLM—JCCM), Campus Universitario, s/n, 02071 Albacete, Spain; (A.J.-C.); (P.J.S.-M.); (F.S.-R.); (M.A.-M.); (O.G.-Á); (A.J.S.); (J.J.G.)
| | - Pedro Javier Soria-Meneses
- SaBio IREC (CSIC—UCLM—JCCM), Campus Universitario, s/n, 02071 Albacete, Spain; (A.J.-C.); (P.J.S.-M.); (F.S.-R.); (M.A.-M.); (O.G.-Á); (A.J.S.); (J.J.G.)
| | - Francisca Sánchez-Rubio
- SaBio IREC (CSIC—UCLM—JCCM), Campus Universitario, s/n, 02071 Albacete, Spain; (A.J.-C.); (P.J.S.-M.); (F.S.-R.); (M.A.-M.); (O.G.-Á); (A.J.S.); (J.J.G.)
- Servicio de Farmacia Hospitalaria, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Albacete, GAI, 02071 Albacete, Spain
| | - Enrique Niza
- Centro Regional de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Unidad Nano-CRIB, 02071 Albacete, Spain; (E.N.); (I.B.); (C.A.-M.)
- Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Castilla la Mancha, 02071 Albacete, Spain
| | - Iván Bravo
- Centro Regional de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Unidad Nano-CRIB, 02071 Albacete, Spain; (E.N.); (I.B.); (C.A.-M.)
- Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Castilla la Mancha, 02071 Albacete, Spain
| | - Carlos Alonso-Moreno
- Centro Regional de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Unidad Nano-CRIB, 02071 Albacete, Spain; (E.N.); (I.B.); (C.A.-M.)
- Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Castilla la Mancha, 02071 Albacete, Spain
| | - María Arenas-Moreira
- SaBio IREC (CSIC—UCLM—JCCM), Campus Universitario, s/n, 02071 Albacete, Spain; (A.J.-C.); (P.J.S.-M.); (F.S.-R.); (M.A.-M.); (O.G.-Á); (A.J.S.); (J.J.G.)
- Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Castilla la Mancha, 02071 Albacete, Spain
| | - Olga García-Álvarez
- SaBio IREC (CSIC—UCLM—JCCM), Campus Universitario, s/n, 02071 Albacete, Spain; (A.J.-C.); (P.J.S.-M.); (F.S.-R.); (M.A.-M.); (O.G.-Á); (A.J.S.); (J.J.G.)
| | - Ana Josefa Soler
- SaBio IREC (CSIC—UCLM—JCCM), Campus Universitario, s/n, 02071 Albacete, Spain; (A.J.-C.); (P.J.S.-M.); (F.S.-R.); (M.A.-M.); (O.G.-Á); (A.J.S.); (J.J.G.)
| | - José Julián Garde
- SaBio IREC (CSIC—UCLM—JCCM), Campus Universitario, s/n, 02071 Albacete, Spain; (A.J.-C.); (P.J.S.-M.); (F.S.-R.); (M.A.-M.); (O.G.-Á); (A.J.S.); (J.J.G.)
| | - María del Rocío Fernández-Santos
- SaBio IREC (CSIC—UCLM—JCCM), Campus Universitario, s/n, 02071 Albacete, Spain; (A.J.-C.); (P.J.S.-M.); (F.S.-R.); (M.A.-M.); (O.G.-Á); (A.J.S.); (J.J.G.)
- Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Castilla la Mancha, 02071 Albacete, Spain
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Singh AV, Ansari MHD, Mahajan M, Srivastava S, Kashyap S, Dwivedi P, Pandit V, Katha U. Sperm Cell Driven Microrobots-Emerging Opportunities and Challenges for Biologically Inspired Robotic Design. MICROMACHINES 2020; 11:E448. [PMID: 32340402 PMCID: PMC7231336 DOI: 10.3390/mi11040448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2020] [Revised: 04/14/2020] [Accepted: 04/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
With the advent of small-scale robotics, several exciting new applications like Targeted Drug Delivery, single cell manipulation and so forth, are being discussed. However, some challenges remain to be overcome before any such technology becomes medically usable; among which propulsion and biocompatibility are the main challenges. Propulsion at micro-scale where the Reynolds number is very low is difficult. To overcome this, nature has developed flagella which have evolved over millions of years to work as a micromotor. Among the microscopic cells that exhibit this mode of propulsion, sperm cells are considered to be fast paced. Here, we give a brief review of the state-of-the-art of Spermbots - a new class of microrobots created by coupling sperm cells to mechanical loads. Spermbots utilize the flagellar movement of the sperm cells for propulsion and as such do not require any toxic fuel in their environment. They are also naturally biocompatible and show considerable speed of motion thereby giving us an option to overcome the two challenges of propulsion and biocompatibility. The coupling mechanisms of physical load to the sperm cells are discussed along with the advantages and challenges associated with the spermbot. A few most promising applications of spermbots are also discussed in detail. A brief discussion of the future outlook of this extremely promising category of microrobots is given at the end.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ajay Vikram Singh
- Physical Intelligence Department, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
- Department of Chemical and Product Safety, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Max-Dohrn-Strasse 8-10, 10589 Berlin, Germany
| | - Mohammad Hasan Dad Ansari
- The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Via Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025 Pontedera, Italy;
- Department of Excellence in Robotics & AI, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Via Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025 Pontedera, Italy
| | - Mihir Mahajan
- Königin-Olga-Stift Gymnasium, Johannesstraße 18, 70176 Stuttgart, Germany;
| | - Shubhangi Srivastava
- Department of Zoology, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, India;
| | - Shubham Kashyap
- Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University, Lucknow 226031, India;
| | - Prajjwal Dwivedi
- Department of Physics, Shri Ramswaroop Memorial University, Lucknow 226007, India;
| | - Vaibhav Pandit
- Dynex Technologies, 14340 Sullyfield Circle, Chantilly, VA 20151-1621 USA;
| | - Uma Katha
- BioPharma Division, GALAB Laboratories GmbH, 21029 Hamburg, Germany;
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