In a world’s first, a team of researchers at City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has developed a magnetic 3D-printed microscopic robot that can carry cells to precise locations in live animals.
The invention could revolutionize cell-based therapy, regenerative medicine and more precise treatment for diseases such as cancer.
It was published in journal Science Robotics in June under the title “Development of a magnetic microrobot for carrying and delivering targeted cells”.
“This could be a huge leap for the emerging industry of cell surgery robotics,” said Professor Sun Dong, Head of the Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) at CityU and the supervisor of the research team.
In recent years, scientists have been exploring the feasibility of using microrobots to deliver drugs or cells to a specific part of the body. Magnetic fields were used to move the microrobots because of the precise positioning ability and insensitivity to the biological substance. But the application was only limited to in vitro cell delivery, and it might not reflect feasibility in vivo situation due to the complexity inside multi-cellular organisms.
In this new study, the CityU research team has managed to design a magnetically driven microrobot which can achieve in vivo transport and delivery of targeted cell. “This is the first known instance of a microrobot able to deliver cells in a live body,” said Dr. Li Jun-yang, Ph.D. graduate of BME and the first author of the paper.
The size of the new microrobot is less than 100 micrometers (µm) in diameter, similar to that of a single strand of human hair. Using a negative photoresist SU-8 50, the team fabricated the microrobots with 3D laser lithography, and then coated them with nickel for magnetism and titanium for biocompatibility.
The microrobots are actuated by magnetic gradient force. The research team has designed and made an external electromagnetic coil actuation system to manipulate the magnetic microrobots to reach the desired site. After in vitro experiments, subsequent tests were carried out on two types of animals.
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