Journal of Micro-Bio Robotics最新文献

{"title":"Generalized direct fabrication of embedded-magnet microrobots with enhanced material compatibility.","authors":"Yang Yang, Jeremy B Gan, Jialong Huang, Sven Mucke, Aaron C Davis, Haiyan Wang, David J Cappelleri","doi":"10.1007/s12213-026-00208-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12213-026-00208-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Magnetically actuated microrobots offer transformative potential for biomedical applications such as targeted drug delivery and minimally invasive diagnostics. However, existing fabrication methods are constrained by challenges in magnetic material integration, structural robustness, and reproducibility. In this work, we present an improved direct-printing strategy that integrates permanent micro-magnets into microrobots during the two-photon polymerization (TPP) process, thereby eliminating the need for post-assembly alignment or insertion. To enhance magnetic-material compatibility and interfacial reliability, a sputtering-based surface modification technique is introduced, enabling robust integration of both pre-coated and surface-treated magnets. Using this approach, four functional microrobotic platforms are demonstrated: (1) a helical microswimmer for efficient propulsion, (2) a micro-scale tumbling microrobot for terrain locomotion, (3) a compliant micro-gripper for precise grasping and manipulation, and (4) a mini-MicroTumbler (MMT) incorporating a sputter-modified magnet for stable microscale actuation. Performance characterization was conducted under varying actuation frequencies and environments. The microswimmer exhibited frequency-dependent propulsion consistent with magnetic step-out behavior, the MicroTumbler achieved stable locomotion across inclined surfaces, the micro-gripper demonstrated controllable deformation and object manipulation, and the MMT showed reliable frequency-dependent motion. This study establishes a scalable, material-flexible, and high-fidelity fabrication method for embedded-magnet microrobots, broadening the design space and enabling the next generation of multifunctional, magnetically actuated microsystems.</p>","PeriodicalId":44493,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Micro-Bio Robotics","volume":"22 2","pages":"12"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13346300/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148425315","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A flexible automated magnetic microrobot assembly system.","authors":"Oliver J Shindell, Aaron C Davis, David J Cappelleri","doi":"10.1007/s12213-026-00204-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12213-026-00204-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This paper presents a novel system for flexible automated fabrication of microrobots with embedded permanent magnets, and for the loading of liquid therapeutic drugs and sealing with thermally sensitive wax. Microrobots featuring embedded magnets are more controllable and observable, and are capable of tasks requiring higher forces. In this system, a micromanipulator controls tweezers, and stepper motors actuate a four-stage system that executes different assembly steps. A syringe pump is used to fill drug delivery microrobots, and a wax seal is applied with a brush made from heated copper wires. This brush is capable of efficiently applying an even wax coating to drug delivery robots, sealing the contained therapeutics inside. Vision-based feedback from an overhead microscope camera ensures precise embedded magnet assembly through a combination of image processing algorithms. A single drug delivery robot can be assembled in 192.77±48.28 seconds (mean±standard deviation, n=13). Drug loading and sealing takes 159.38±3.67 seconds (n=16). 100% of seals were found to be hermetic, with an average thickness of 302±25 [Formula: see text]m (n=16). This work advances micro-assembly toward practical medical use by establishing a practical basis for mass production of drug delivery robots.</p><p><strong>Supplementary information: </strong>The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12213-026-00204-y.</p>","PeriodicalId":44493,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Micro-Bio Robotics","volume":"22 1","pages":"7"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12999708/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147500063","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Analysis of magnetic configuration and its effect on motion in magnetically actuated soft miniature robots within tubular confinement.","authors":"Afarin Khabbazian, Mir Behrad Khamesee, Veronika Magdanz","doi":"10.1007/s12213-025-00188-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12213-025-00188-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Soft, magnetically actuated robots offer promising potential for medical applications due to their simple fabrication, controllability, cargo loading ability and flexibility. This research focuses on the design, modeling, and behavior of soft, millimeter-scale filamentous robots composed of Gelatin Methacrylate (GelMa) hydrogels and embedded with micromagnets for magnetic actuation. These robots are designed for navigation within the human urinary tract. The study investigates two distinct configurations: screw-like and fin-like robots, each responding differently to an external rotating magnetic field. The screw-like robots propel forward through synchronized helical motion, while the fin-like robots rely on interaction with surrounding surfaces for crawling motion. Experimental frequency response tests reveal that fin-like robots exhibit three times faster motion than screw-like robots in confined environments, reaching velocities of up to 18 mm/s. Additionally, the influence of micromagnet location inside the filaments on their propulsion dynamics is explored, highlighting the potential for optimized performance in medical applications requiring navigation through narrow channels, such as the ureter. Further optimization is proposed to enhance control and performance in more complex biological environments.</p><p><strong>Supplementary information: </strong>The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12213-025-00188-1.</p>","PeriodicalId":44493,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Micro-Bio Robotics","volume":"21 2","pages":"9"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12182515/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144477211","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Anisotropy, topography and non-newtonian properties of cellular interiors probed by helical magnetic nanobots.","authors":"Souravi Mukherjee, Nahid Ahmed, Reshma Vasantha Ramachandran, Ramray Bhat, Deepak Kumar Saini, Ambarish Ghosh","doi":"10.1007/s12213-024-00176-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12213-024-00176-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cells are building blocks of living systems. Spatio-temporal mapping of local biophysical changes within cells can lead to novel insights into various biological events. As demonstrated in previous works, successful internalization, controlled manipulation, bio-compatibility, and surface-functionalization capabilities make the helical magnetic nanobots, an ideal candidate for local intracellular measurements. In this work, we focus on both qualitative and quantitative understanding of the mechanical properties of the intracellular medium based on intriguing new observations that emerge in the dynamics of the helical nanobots, driven inside cells. Our studies show that orientational changes in the nanobots can be an important measure of the underlying anisotropy and local topographical confinements in the cell cytoplasm. Inside cells, the orientational differences (from the intended direction fixed by the magnetic drive) can sometimes be as high as 70-80 degrees, significantly higher than those expected for homogeneous Newtonian media. We find that correlating these orientational changes to the corresponding velocities of the nanobots can enable us to sense local confinements and boundaries in the cellular interiors. Also, the hydrodynamic pitch during propulsion significantly depends on the nanobot position inside cells. At times, the pitch can get as high as 700 <i>nm</i> (about 3-4 times higher than the hydrodynamic pitch in a Newtonian medium), showing the presence of local solid-like (elastic) behavior of the cell cytoplasm. Interestingly, the signature of intermittencies in dynamics and backward motion also shows up in the pitch measurements, highlighting the presence of local confinements and topographical variations. These studies demonstrate how the dynamics of the helical nanobots can be utilized to develop novel metrics for spatio-temporal mapping of mechanical variations inside cells.</p><p><strong>Supplementary information: </strong>The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12213-024-00176-x.</p>","PeriodicalId":44493,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Micro-Bio Robotics","volume":"21 1","pages":"6"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11885411/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143587286","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Programmable acoustic modular microrobots.","authors":"Subrahmanyam Cherukumilli, Fatma Ceren Kirmizitas, David P Rivas, Max Sokolich, M Cagatay Karakan, Alice E White, Sambeeta Das","doi":"10.1007/s12213-024-00175-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12213-024-00175-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The field of microrobotics has emerged as a promising area of research with significant applications in biomedicine, both in vitro and in vivo, such as targeted cargo delivery, microsurgery, and cellular manipulation. Microrobots actuated with multiple modalities have the potential for greater adaptability, robustness, and capability to perform various tasks. Modular units that can reconfigure into various shapes, create structures that may be difficult to fabricate as one whole unit, and be assembled on-site, could provide more versatility by assembly and disassembly of units on demand. Such multi-modal modular microrobots have the potential to address challenging applications. Here, we present a biocompatible cylindrical microrobot with a dome-shaped cavity. The microrobot is actuated by both magnetic and acoustic fields and forms modular microstructures of various shapes. We demonstrate the use of these microrobots for cellular manipulation by creating patterns on a surface.</p><p><strong>Supplementary information: </strong>The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12213-024-00175-y.</p>","PeriodicalId":44493,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Micro-Bio Robotics","volume":"20 2","pages":"11"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11297829/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141894563","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"3D printed vision-based micro-force sensors for microrobotic applications","authors":"G. Adam, G. Ulliac, C. Clévy, D. Cappelleri","doi":"10.1007/s12213-023-00152-x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12213-023-00152-x","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":44493,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Micro-Bio Robotics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2023-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46757485","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Characterization of a magnetic localization method based on Hall effect sensor array for microrobot position tracking","authors":"G. Géron, C. Prelle, H. Al Hajjar, J. Terrien, M. Khan","doi":"10.1007/s12213-023-00154-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12213-023-00154-9","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":44493,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Micro-Bio Robotics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2023-03-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44762466","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Nanomaterial-decorated micromotors for enhanced photoacoustic imaging.","authors":"Azaam Aziz, Richard Nauber, Ana Sánchez Iglesias, Min Tang, Libo Ma, Luis M Liz-Marzán, Oliver G Schmidt, Mariana Medina-Sánchez","doi":"10.1007/s12213-023-00156-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12213-023-00156-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Micro-and nanorobots have the potential to perform non-invasive drug delivery, sensing, and surgery in living organisms, with the aid of diverse medical imaging techniques. To perform such actions, microrobots require high spatiotemporal resolution tracking with real-time closed-loop feedback. To that end,  photoacoustic imaging has appeared as a promising technique for imaging microrobots in deep tissue with higher molecular specificity and contrast. Here, we present different strategies to track magnetically-driven micromotors with improved contrast and specificity using dedicated contrast agents (Au nanorods and nanostars). Furthermore, we discuss the possibility of improving the light absorption properties of the employed nanomaterials considering possible light scattering and coupling to the underlying metal-oxide layers on the micromotor's surface. For that, 2D COMSOL simulation and experimental results were correlated, confirming that an increased spacing between the Au-nanostructures and the increase of thickness of the underlying oxide layer lead to enhanced light absorption and preservation of the characteristic absorption peak. These characteristics are important when visualizing the micromotors in a complex in vivo environment, to distinguish them from the light absorption properties of the surrounding natural chromophores.</p><p><strong>Supplementary information: </strong>The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12213-023-00156-7.</p>","PeriodicalId":44493,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Micro-Bio Robotics","volume":"1 1","pages":"37-45"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10756870/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41724817","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Magnetic microbot-based micromanipulation of surrogate biological objects in fluidic channels","authors":"Dharmveer Agarwal, A. D. Thakur, Atul Thakur","doi":"10.1007/s12213-022-00151-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12213-022-00151-4","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":44493,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Micro-Bio Robotics","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2022-06-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46367560","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Design of Micropump with two stacked ring type piezoelectric actuators for drug delivery","authors":"K. Sravani, Desala Ramakrishna, P. Chandh, Kuncham Sathvik, K. Rao","doi":"10.1007/s12213-022-00146-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12213-022-00146-1","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":44493,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Micro-Bio Robotics","volume":"17 1","pages":"69 - 78"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2021-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"52752249","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}