Research advances microrobotics for use in targeted drug delivery –
Collaborative research between SMU nanorobotics authority MinJun Kim’s Biological Actuation, Sensing, and Transport (BAST) Lab and international research and engineering company ARA has demonstrated for the first time that certain chemical coatings, applied to micro/nanoparticles, can alter their swimming propulsion within biological fluids.
The joint research, “Spontaneous symmetry breaking propulsion of chemically coated magnetic microparticles,” has been published in Scientific Reports.
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Designing specialized surface coatings to generate specific propulsion properties will provide new approaches to drug delivery strategies, the study concludes.
Being able to navigate microparticles quickly will support drug deployment when delivery speed is critical for patient recovery.
In addition, being able to precisely navigate these “swimming” microparticles will allow them to travel through complex fluids and tissue environments to targeted locations in the human body.
