Scientists have developed a spray which is capable of providing magnetic properties. These objects can then be controlled externally for biomedical operations such as delivering drugs to targeted areas.
Researchers at the City University of Hong Kong have developed the spray using polyvinyl alcohol, gluten and iron particles. It can stick to smooth and textured surfaces of all kinds of materials.
Named as the ‘M-spray’, the new invention can stick on the targeted object and when activated it allows the object to roll, flip, walk and crawl using a magnetic field. The research team is hopeful that their creation can be applied to pills and other medications with which doctors can move to target a specific part of the body.
According to a New Atlas report, Dr. Shen Yajing, who led the research team, said, “Our idea is that by putting on this magnetic coat, we can turn any objects into a robot and control their locomotion”. Yajing said the ‘M-spray’ can stick on the targeted object and ‘activate’ the object when driven by a magnetic field.
The film formed by the spray coating is less than a quarter of a millimeter thick and it can be easily removed using an oscillating magnetic field to disintegrate, while leaving the object intact. The research team believes that the new method could prove useful for delivering medicine to a targeted location and the remaining powder can be absorbed or pushed out by the body.
The spray was tested successfully by manoeuvring and disintegrating an M-spray-coated drug to a target area in an unconscious rabbit’s stomach. The pills were tracked through the subject’s body using radiology imaging. The research team also noticed how the coating dissolved when the capsule reached its targeted location.
Watch the research demonstration of the robots here:
The team believes the M-spray could be used beyond biomedical applications and it has the potential to contribute in several fields such as active transportation, moveable devices especially for the tasks in limited space.