TY - JOUR
T1 - Shape-switching microrobots for medical applications: The influence of shape in drug delivery and locomotion
AU - Fusco, Stefano
AU - Huang, Hen Wei
AU - Peyer, Kathrin E.
AU - Peters, Christian
AU - Häberli, Moritz
AU - Ulbers, André
AU - Spyrogianni, Anastasia
AU - Pellicer, Eva
AU - Sort, Jordi
AU - Pratsinis, Sotiris E.
AU - Nelson, Bradley J.
AU - Sakar, Mahmut Selman
AU - Pané, Salvador
PY - 2015/1/1
Y1 - 2015/1/1
N2 - © 2015 American Chemical Society. The effect of dynamic shape switching of hydrogel bilayers on the performance of self-folding microrobots is investigated for navigation in body orifices and drug release on demand. Tubular microrobots are fabricated by coupling a thermoresponsive hydrogel nanocomposite with a poly(ethylene glycol)diacrylate (PEGDA) layer, to achieve spontaneous and reversible folding from a planar rectangular structure. Graphene oxide (GO) or silica-coated superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles are dispersed in the thermoresponsive hydrogel matrix to provide near-infrared (NIR) light sensitivity or magnetic actuation, respectively. The NIR light-responsive microstructures are fabricated for triggered drug delivery while magnetic nanocomposite-based microrobots are used to analyze the role of shape in locomotion. Experimental analysis and computational simulations of tubular structures show that drug release and motility can be optimized through controlled shape change. These concepts are finally applied to helical microrobots to show a possible way to achieve autonomous behavior.
AB - © 2015 American Chemical Society. The effect of dynamic shape switching of hydrogel bilayers on the performance of self-folding microrobots is investigated for navigation in body orifices and drug release on demand. Tubular microrobots are fabricated by coupling a thermoresponsive hydrogel nanocomposite with a poly(ethylene glycol)diacrylate (PEGDA) layer, to achieve spontaneous and reversible folding from a planar rectangular structure. Graphene oxide (GO) or silica-coated superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles are dispersed in the thermoresponsive hydrogel matrix to provide near-infrared (NIR) light sensitivity or magnetic actuation, respectively. The NIR light-responsive microstructures are fabricated for triggered drug delivery while magnetic nanocomposite-based microrobots are used to analyze the role of shape in locomotion. Experimental analysis and computational simulations of tubular structures show that drug release and motility can be optimized through controlled shape change. These concepts are finally applied to helical microrobots to show a possible way to achieve autonomous behavior.
KW - drug delivery
KW - hydrogel nanocomposites
KW - magnetic manipulation
KW - microrobotics
KW - self-folding bilayers
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.5b00181
DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.5b00181
M3 - Article
VL - 7
SP - 6803
EP - 6811
ER -