Sperm-templated magnetic microrobots

Spermatozoa are efficient microswimmers which perform a bending wave motion for their forward propulsion. By binding positively charged iron oxide microparticles to the surface of negatively charged bull spermatozoa, we fabricate sperm-templated biohybrid magnetic microrobots. This study presents an easy and cost-efficient method to obtain magnetic microswimmers that are actuated by oscillating magnetic fields and take advantage of the intrinsic flexibility of the sperm tails for their propulsion in fluidic environment. In this article, we present the actuation of such sperm-templated flexible magnetic microsrobots under influence of an oscillating magnetic field and investigate their performance on the solid-liquid and liquid-gas interface.

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