Swarms of Magnetic Microrobots Mimic Ants to Lift, Float and Deliver Drugs

Tiny cube-shaped robots, each no larger than a grain of sand, are showing ant-like teamwork by lifting heavy objects, forming floating rafts and navigating through clogs—potentially revolutionising targeted drug delivery.

Credit: Jeong Jae Wie et al.

Developed by Jeong Jae Wie and his team at Hanyang University in South Korea, the microrobots are made using epoxy resin embedded with magnetic alloy. This allows them to be programmed into specific configurations when exposed to magnetic fields.

The robots can be controlled externally to perform coordinated movements such as spinning, climbing and pushing. The team was able to produce hundreds to thousands of these bots efficiently, each designed for specific tasks.

In tests, the microrobots climbed over obstacles five times their height, formed floating rafts on water and transported a pill 2,000 times their weight through liquid.

Credit: DEVICE

They also pushed through a clogged tube, demonstrating potential for medical use.

Xiaoguang Dong, a researcher at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, said the bots show promise for minimally invasive drug delivery in confined spaces. However, he noted that the robots currently cannot autonomously navigate complex environments like arteries.

Dong also highlighted safety concerns, including the need to coat the magnetic particles with biocompatible materials to prevent toxicity. Despite these challenges, he remains optimistic about their future in medicine.

If proven safe, the microrobots could deliver drugs directly to disease sites, improving treatment precision and effectiveness.

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• Microrobots are guided by magnetic fields to perform coordinated tasks

• Each robot is about the size of a grain of sand and made with magnetic alloy

• Swarms lifted objects, formed rafts and moved pills 2,000 times their weight

Source: NEW SCIENTIST