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Video: Microrobots roll against blood flow to deliver drugs

Video: Microrobots roll against blood flow to deliver drugs

With the help of magnetic fields, the bots might one day navigate the circulatory system to target tumors

Drug-carrying microrobots offer a way to deliver treatments straight to where they are needed, such as tumors deep within the body. But most bots designed in labs have so far been limited to easy-to-reach targets such as the gut. Now, researchers have developed drug-delivering “microrollers” that can move against blood flow (Sci. Robot. 2020, DOI: 10.1126/scirobotics.aba5726). With the help of a magnetic field, these two-faced particles might one day navigate our circulatory system to deliver treatments to tumors. The microrollers are coated on one side with magnetic materials and on the other with antibodies specific to cancer cells. These antibodies would help the particles selectively bind to tumors in the body, where they could release their payload. This targeted approach could minimize exposure of healthy cells to cancer drugs, reducing side effects.


People

pi Yunus Alapan
Yunus Alapan
Senior Research Scientist at Aselsan, Turkey
Alumni
pi Ugur Bozuyuk
Ugur Bozuyuk
Postdoctoral Researcher
pi Metin Sitti
Metin Sitti
Guest Researcher