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Iacovacci V, Diller E, Ahmed D, Menciassi A. Medical Microrobots. Annu Rev Biomed Eng 2024; 26:561-591. [PMID: 38594937 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-bioeng-081523-033131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/11/2024]
Abstract
Scientists around the world have long aimed to produce miniature robots that can be controlled inside the human body to aid doctors in identifying and treating diseases. Such microrobots hold the potential to access hard-to-reach areas of the body through the natural lumina. Wireless access has the potential to overcome drawbacks of systemic therapy, as well as to enable completely new minimally invasive procedures. The aim of this review is fourfold: first, to provide a collection of valuable anatomical and physiological information on the target working environments together with engineering tools for the design of medical microrobots; second, to provide a comprehensive updated survey of the technological state of the art in relevant classes of medical microrobots; third, to analyze currently available tracking and closed-loop control strategies compatible with the in-body environment; and fourth, to explore the challenges still in place, to steer and inspire future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Veronica Iacovacci
- Department of Excellence Robotics & AI, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy
- BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy; ,
| | - Eric Diller
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
- Robotics Institute, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
- Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Daniel Ahmed
- Acoustic Robotics Systems Lab, Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems, ETH Zurich, Rüschlikon, Switzerland
| | - Arianna Menciassi
- Department of Excellence Robotics & AI, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy
- BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy; ,
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Wieland S, Ramsperger AFRM, Gross W, Lehmann M, Witzmann T, Caspari A, Obst M, Gekle S, Auernhammer GK, Fery A, Laforsch C, Kress H. Nominally identical microplastic models differ greatly in their particle-cell interactions. Nat Commun 2024; 15:922. [PMID: 38297000 PMCID: PMC10830523 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45281-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2022] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 02/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Due to the abundance of microplastics in the environment, research about its possible adverse effects is increasing exponentially. Most studies investigating the effect of microplastics on cells still rely on commercially available polystyrene microspheres. However, the choice of these model microplastic particles can affect the outcome of the studies, as even nominally identical model microplastics may interact differently with cells due to different surface properties such as the surface charge. Here, we show that nominally identical polystyrene microspheres from eight different manufacturers significantly differ in their ζ-potential, which is the electrical potential of a particle in a medium at its slipping plane. The ζ-potential of the polystyrene particles is additionally altered after environmental exposure. We developed a microfluidic microscopy platform to demonstrate that the ζ-potential determines particle-cell adhesion strength. Furthermore, we find that due to this effect, the ζ-potential also strongly determines the internalization of the microplastic particles into cells. Therefore, the ζ-potential can act as a proxy of microplastic-cell interactions and may govern adverse effects reported in various organisms exposed to microplastics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Wieland
- Biological Physics, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
- Animal Ecology I and BayCEER, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Anja F R M Ramsperger
- Biological Physics, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
- Animal Ecology I and BayCEER, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Gross
- Biological Physics, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Moritz Lehmann
- Biofluid Simulation and Modeling - Theoretical Physics VI, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Thomas Witzmann
- Leibniz Institut für Polymerforschung Dresden e. V., Institute of Physical Chemistry and Polymer Physics, Dresden, Germany
| | - Anja Caspari
- Leibniz Institut für Polymerforschung Dresden e. V., Institute of Physical Chemistry and Polymer Physics, Dresden, Germany
| | - Martin Obst
- Experimental Biogeochemistry, BayCEER, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Stephan Gekle
- Biofluid Simulation and Modeling - Theoretical Physics VI, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Günter K Auernhammer
- Leibniz Institut für Polymerforschung Dresden e. V., Institute of Physical Chemistry and Polymer Physics, Dresden, Germany
| | - Andreas Fery
- Leibniz Institut für Polymerforschung Dresden e. V., Institute of Physical Chemistry and Polymer Physics, Dresden, Germany
- Physical Chemistry of Polymeric Materials, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Christian Laforsch
- Animal Ecology I and BayCEER, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany.
| | - Holger Kress
- Biological Physics, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany.
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