Nano technology is a bliss that impresses human beings with the colossal achievements using minuscule materials. The latest novelty is a nano-device that looks like a sperm and uses the corkscrew motion of flagella. These remote controlled devices could come in handy to deliver drugs to precise places inside the body for patients during operations. A creation of Peer Fischer and Ambarish Ghosh, these nano propellers are made of glass with a spherical head 200 to 300 nanometers across a corkscrew-shaped tail measuring one to two meters in length. The overall structure is one-tenth the length of a human sperm.
The duo used a silicon wafer and covered it with glass beads and then deposited a vapor of silicon dioxide on it. During the process, the wafer was spun to impart the corkscrew shape. When the combination dried, one side of this propeller was covered with cobalt to bring into use its magnetic properties.
By bringing magnetism into use, these propellers moved in corkscrew motion through the water at 40 micrometers per second. This achievement has given them the repute of the smallest swimmers ever. That repute apart, these propellers trump microbots, as they do not need the support of movable parts.
Via: NewScientist
