Micro‐/Nanorobots at Work in Active Drug Delivery

TLDR

Micro‑/nanorobots have progressed to convert various energy sources into propulsion, navigate to target sites within physiological environments, and are anticipated to become intelligent, multifunctional devices that could profoundly influence disease treatment. This feature article aims to summarize and evaluate the propulsion modalities of micro‑/nanorobots—chemical, biochemical, external field, and motile microorganism-based—examining their driving forces, biocompatibility, and biomedical advantages and limitations. The authors review the propulsion mechanisms and discuss recent in vitro and in vivo active drug‑delivery studies employing micro‑/nanorobots, detailing how these systems achieve targeted therapeutic transport. Micro‑/nanorobots have demonstrated the ability to load, transport, and deliver therapeutic payloads directly to disease sites, enhancing efficacy and reducing systemic toxicity, while the article also outlines current challenges and future prospects.

Abstract

After the tremendous advances over the past two decades, micro-/nanorobots can effectively convert other forms of energy into propulsion and movement, as well as be navigated to targeted locations under physiological conditions and environments. They have been demonstrated to have the potential to load, transport, and deliver therapeutic payloads directly to disease sites, thereby improving the therapeutic efficacy and reducing systemic side effects of highly toxic drugs. In this feature article, the various propulsion modalities of micro-/nanorobots ranging from chemical/biochemical reactions to external fields, and to motile microorganisms are summarized and commented in terms of driving forces required by the automotive motion in biological media, biocompatibility, as well as the corresponding advantages and limitations in terms of biomedical applications. Then, the latest developments of in vitro and in vivo active drug delivery based on micro-/nanorobots are discussed in detail. The challenges and future prospects are also highlighted in the end. With ever booming research enthusiasm in this field and increasing multidisciplinary cooperation, micro-/nanorobots with intelligence and multifunctions will emerge in the near future, which would have a profound impact on the treatment of diseases.