Scientists have developed flexible micro-robots that can adapt to their surroundings. These tiny ‘elastic’ robots can change their shape and travel through fluids. Scientists believe that this can, one day, revolutionize targeted drug delivery.
The research is being carried out by scientists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) and ETH Zurich in Switzerland. The scientists drew inspiration from bacteria to design these robots.
If all goes well, ingesting drug directly to a diseased tissue will soon be a reality. The ability to change shape and travel through fluids will help the robots to deliver a drug directly to the affected part of the body. They will be able to pass through even the narrowest of vessels to deliver the drugs.
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These robots are fully biocompatible and hence won’t cause any harm to the body. They are made of hydrogel nanocomposites, which contain magnetic nanoparticles. This means that these micro-robots can be easily controlled by an electromagnetic field.
The study was published in the journal Science Advances.
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