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  • Magnetically Aligned Nanorods in Alginate Capsules (MANiACs): Soft Matter Tumbling Robots for Manipulation and Drug Delivery
Title: Magnetically Aligned Nanorods in Alginate Capsules (MANiACs): Soft Matter Tumbling Robots for Manipulation and Drug Delivery
Soft, untethered microrobots composed of biocompatible materials for completing micromanipulation and drug delivery tasks in lab-on-a-chip and medical scenarios are currently being developed. Alginate holds significant potential in medical microrobotics due to its biocompatibility, biodegradability, and drug encapsulation capabilities. Here, we describe the synthesis of MANiACs—Magnetically Aligned Nanorods in Alginate Capsules—for use as untethered microrobotic surface tumblers, demonstrating magnetically guided lateral tumbling via rotating magnetic fields. MANiAC translation is demonstrated on tissue surfaces as well as inclined slopes. These alginate microrobots are capable of manipulating objects over millimeter-scale distances. Finally, we demonstrate payload release capabilities of MANiACs during translational tumbling motion.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1662641
NSF-PAR ID:
10159487
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; more » ; « less
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Micromachines
Volume:
10
Issue:
4
ISSN:
2072-666X
Page Range / eLocation ID:
230
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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