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Micro- and nanorobots excel in navigating the intricate and often inaccessible areas of the human body, offering immense potential for applications such as disease diagnosis, precision drug delivery, detoxification, and minimally invasive surgery. Despite their promise, practical deployment faces hurdles, including achieving stable propulsion in complex in vivo biological environments, real-time imaging and localization through deep tissue, and precise remote control for targeted therapy and ensuring high therapeutic efficacy. To overcome these obstacles, we introduce a hydrogel-based, imaging-guided, bioresorbable acoustic microrobot (BAM) designed to navigate the human body with high stability. Constructed using two-photon polymerization, a BAM comprises magnetic nanoparticles and therapeutic agents integrated into its hydrogel matrix for precision control and drug delivery. The microrobot features an optimized surface chemistry with a hydrophobic inner layer to substantially enhance microbubble retention in biofluids with multiday functionality and a hydrophilic outer layer to minimize aggregation and promote timely degradation. The dual-opening bubble-trapping cavity design enables a BAM to maintain consistent and efficient acoustic propulsion across a range of biological fluids. Under focused ultrasound stimulation, the entrapped microbubbles oscillate and enhance the contrast for real-time ultrasound imaging, facilitating precise tracking and control of BAM movement through wireless magnetic navigation. Moreover, the hydrolysis-driven biodegradability of BAMs ensures its safe dissolution after treatment, posing no risk of long-term residual harm. Thorough in vitro and in vivo experimental evidence demonstrates the promising capabilities of BAMs in biomedical applications. This approach shows promise for advancing minimally invasive medical interventions and targeted therapeutic delivery.
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TriMag Microrobots: 3D‐Printed Microrobots for Magnetic Actuation, Imaging, and Hyperthermia
Abstract Microrobots hold immense potential in biomedical applications, including drug delivery, disease diagnostics, and minimally invasive surgeries. However, two key challenges hinder their clinical translation: achieving scalable and precision fabrication, and enabling non‐invasive imaging and tracking within deep biological tissues. Magnetic particle imaging (MPI), a cutting‐edge imaging modality, addresses these challenges by detecting the magnetization of nanoparticles and visualizing superparamagnetic nanoparticles (SPIONs) with sub‐millimeter resolution, free from interference by biological tissues. This capability makes MPI an ideal tool for tracking magnetic microrobots in deep tissue environments. In this study, “TriMag” microrobots are introduced: 3D‐printed microrobots with three integrated magnetic functionalities—magnetic actuation, magnetic particle imaging, and magnetic hyperthermia. The TriMag microrobots are fabricated using an innovative method that combines two‐photon lithography for 3D printing biocompatible hydrogel structures with in situ chemical reactions to embed the hydrogel scaffold with Fe3O4nanoparticles for good MPI contrast and CoFe2O4nanoparticles for efficient magnetothermal heating. This approach enables scalable, precise fabrication of helical magnetic hydrogel microrobots. The resulting TriMag microrobots, with the synergistic effects of Fe3O4and CoFe2O4nanoparticles, demonstrate efficient magnetic actuation for controlled movement, precise imaging via MPI for imaging and tracking in biological fluid and organs, including porcine eye and mouse stomach, and magnetothermal heating for tumor ablation in a mouse model. By combining these capabilities, the fabrication and imaging approach provides a robust platform for non‐invasive monitoring and manipulation of microrobots for transformative applications in medical treatment and biological research.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2318057
- PAR ID:
- 10640110
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Advanced Materials
- ISSN:
- 0935-9648
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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