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Zhang H, Guo Y, Chen Y, Xie B, Lai S, Liu H, Hou M, Ma L, Chen X, Wong CP. Nanorobot Swarms Made with Laser-Induced Graphene@Fe 3O 4 Nanoparticles with Controllable Morphology for Targeted Drug Delivery. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2024. [PMID: 39376076 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.4c10355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/09/2024]
Abstract
Magnetic nanorobot swarms can mimic group behaviors in nature and can be flexibly controlled by programmable magnetic fields, thereby having great potential in various applications. This paper presents a novel approach for the rapid and large-scale processing of laser-induced graphene (LIG) @Fe3O4-based-nanorobot swarms utilizing one-step UV laser processing technology. The swarm is capable of forming a variety of reversible morphologies under the magnetic field, including vortex-like and strip-like, as well as the interconversion of these, demonstrating high levels of controllability and flexibility. Moreover, the maximum forward motion speed of the nanorobot swarm is up to 2165 μm/s, and the drug loading and release ability of such a nanorobot swarm is enhanced about 50 times due to the presence of graphene, enabling the nanorobot swarm to show rapid and precise targeted drug delivery. Importantly, by controllable morphology transformation to conform to the complicated requirements for the magnetic field, the drug-loaded swarm can smoothly pass through a width-varying zigzag channel while maintaining 96% of the initial drug-loading, demonstrating that LIG @Fe3O4 NPs-based nanorobot swarm can provide effective and controllable targeted drug delivery in complex passages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Electronic Manufacturing Technology and Equipment, School of Electromechanical Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Yuanhui Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Electronic Manufacturing Technology and Equipment, School of Electromechanical Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Yun Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Electronic Manufacturing Technology and Equipment, School of Electromechanical Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Bin Xie
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Electronic Manufacturing Technology and Equipment, School of Electromechanical Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Shengbao Lai
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Electronic Manufacturing Technology and Equipment, School of Electromechanical Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Huilong Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Electronic Manufacturing Technology and Equipment, School of Electromechanical Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Maoxiang Hou
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Electronic Manufacturing Technology and Equipment, School of Electromechanical Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Li Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Electronic Manufacturing Technology and Equipment, School of Electromechanical Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Xin Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Electronic Manufacturing Technology and Equipment, School of Electromechanical Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Ching-Ping Wong
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
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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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Pane S, Zhang M, Iacovacci V, Zhang L, Menciassi A. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound tracking of helical propellers with acoustic phase analysis and comparison with color Doppler. APL Bioeng 2022; 6:036102. [PMID: 35935094 PMCID: PMC9348897 DOI: 10.1063/5.0097145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2022] [Accepted: 07/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Medical microrobots (MRs) hold the potential to radically transform several interventional procedures. However, to guarantee therapy success when operating in hard-to-reach body districts, a precise and robust imaging strategy is required for monitoring and controlling MRs in real-time. Ultrasound (US) may represent a powerful technology, but MRs' visibility with US needs to be improved, especially when targeting echogenic tissues. In this context, motions of MRs have been exploited to enhance their contrast, e.g., by Doppler imaging. To exploit a more selective contrast-enhancement mechanism, in this study, we analyze in detail the characteristic motions of one of the most widely adopted MR concepts, i.e., the helical propeller, with a particular focus on its interactions with the backscattered US waves. We combine a kinematic analysis of the propeller 3D motion with an US acoustic phase analysis (APA) performed on the raw radio frequency US data in order to improve imaging and tracking in bio-mimicking environments. We validated our US-APA approach in diverse scenarios, aimed at simulating realistic in vivo conditions, and compared the results to those obtained with standard US Doppler. Overall, our technique provided a precise and stable feedback to visualize and track helical propellers in echogenic tissues (chicken breast), tissue-mimicking phantoms with bifurcated lumina, and in the presence of different motion disturbances (e.g., physiological flows and tissue motions), where standard Doppler showed poor performance. Furthermore, the proposed US-APA technique allowed for real-time estimation of MR velocity, where standard Doppler failed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - M Zhang
- Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | | | - L Zhang
- Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
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