Overview
- Scientists coated living sperm with magnetic nanoparticles, making them responsive to external magnetic fields and trackable under X‑ray imaging.
- The team guided the sperm through a life-sized, 3D‑printed model of the female reproductive tract using low‑frequency magnetic fields.
- Short‑term tests showed no significant toxicity in human uterine cells after 72 hours of exposure to the sperm‑nanoparticle clusters.
- Researchers say the approach could enable targeted drug delivery to the uterus and fallopian tubes and offer new insights into infertility and IVF, pending further validation.
- The multi‑institutional work from the University of Twente, Radboud University Medical Center, and the University of Waterloo was published in npj Robotics, with in‑vivo studies and regulatory review still ahead before any clinical trials.