Trends in Micro‐/Nanorobotics: Materials Development, Actuation, Localization, and System Integration for Biomedical Applications
Top Cited Papers
- 4 December 2020
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Wiley in Advanced Materials
- Vol. 33 (4), e2002047
- https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202002047
Abstract
Micro‐/nanorobots (m‐bots) have attracted significant interest due to their suitability for applications in biomedical engineering and environmental remediation. Particularly, their applications in in vivo diagnosis and intervention have been the focus of extensive research in recent years with various clinical imaging techniques being applied for localization and tracking. The successful integration of well‐designed m‐bots with surface functionalization, remote actuation systems, and imaging techniques becomes the crucial step toward biomedical applications, especially for the in vivo uses. This review thus addresses four different aspects of biomedical m‐bots: design/fabrication, functionalization, actuation, and localization. The biomedical applications of the m‐bots in diagnosis, sensing, microsurgery, targeted drug/cell delivery, thrombus ablation, and wound healing are reviewed from these viewpoints. The developed biomedical m‐bot systems are comprehensively compared and evaluated based on their characteristics. The current challenges and the directions of future research in this field are summarized.Keywords
Funding Information
- Innovation and Technology Commission (MRP/036/18X, ITS/374/18FP)
- Chinese University of Hong Kong
This publication has 431 references indexed in Scilit:
- A biomimetic nanosponge that absorbs pore-forming toxinsNature Nanotechnology, 2013
- Organized Self-Assembly of Janus Micromotors with Hydrophobic HemispheresJournal of the American Chemical Society, 2013
- Bacterial Isolation by Lectin-Modified MicroenginesNano Letters, 2011
- Erythrocyte membrane-camouflaged polymeric nanoparticles as a biomimetic delivery platformProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2011
- Micromachine‐Enabled Capture and Isolation of Cancer Cells in Complex MediaAngewandte Chemie, 2011
- Subcellular-resolution delivery of a cytokine through precisely manipulated nanowiresNature Nanotechnology, 2010
- MRI-based Medical Nanorobotic Platform for the Control of Magnetic Nanoparticles and Flagellated Bacteria for Target Interventions in Human CapillariesThe International Journal of Robotics Research, 2009
- Flagellated Magnetotactic Bacteria as Controlled MRI-trackable Propulsion and Steering Systems for Medical Nanorobots Operating in the Human MicrovasculatureThe International Journal of Robotics Research, 2009
- Tetherless thermobiochemically actuated microgrippersProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2009
- Preclinical Studies To Understand Nanoparticle Interaction with the Immune System and Its Potential Effects on Nanoparticle BiodistributionMolecular Pharmaceutics, 2008