Animal shaped morphing robots can deliver cancer drugs precisely where they’re needed
Cancer is notoriously hard to target and kill, and often the drugs used to treat it simply flood peoples bodies and create awful side effects. Targeted drugs are not only better but they're more effective and safer too.
Key takeaways
- With this new technology, tested by Jiawen Li, Li Zhang, Dong Ju and colleagues, could revolutionize cancer treatment by delivering drugs only where they’re needed.
- The microrobots were 4D printed from pH-responsive hydrogel using a femtosecond laser.
- Using the same principles as 3D printing, 4D printing creates a 3D object that can morph its shape.
Cite or link to this article
Griffin, M. (2022) 'Animal shaped morphing robots can deliver cancer drugs precisely where they’re needed', 311 Institute, 4 August. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/animal-shaped-morphing-robots-can-deliver-cancer-drugs-precisely-where-their-needed/ (Accessed: 1 October 2026).
As researchers everywhere try to find new way to beat cancer by creating everything from cancer vaccines to nanobots that destroy cancer cells by drilling into them a research team in the US have announced they’ve developed a way of transporting chemotherapy drugs directly to cancer cells via microrobots.
At present, most patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment receive the cancer-killing drugs either intravenously or orally, both of which cause a range of unpleasant side effects. With this new technology, tested by Jiawen Li, Li Zhang, Dong Ju and colleagues, could revolutionize cancer treatment by delivering drugs only where they’re needed.
Cancer killing fish!?
In a proof-of-concept study, the scientists tested three microrobots shaped as different tiny animals: a fish, a crab, and a butterfly. The microrobots were 4D printed from pH-responsive hydrogel using a femtosecond laser. Using the same principles as 3D printing, 4D printing creates a 3D object that can morph its shape. In this case, the microscopic ‘animals’ changed their form when exposed to a change in pH level—cancer cells are generally more acidic than normal cells.
The researchers also needed a method of guiding the little robots. To achieve this, they submerged the microrobots in a suspension of iron oxide nanoparticles, making them magnetic. Guided by a magnet, the ‘fish’ was steered through a petri dish filled with artificial blood vessels, and oddly, when the fish came to a more acidic part of the solution, it reacted by opening its mouth to release a chemo drug, which killed the cells closest to it.
The team also got the ‘crab’ to grab a microparticle, transport it, and release it
Before the microrobots make it to an actual patient though they need to be made even smaller to navigate real blood vessels, and a suitable imaging method must be identified to track their movements in the body.
The research was published in a paper titled ‘environmentally adaptive shape-morphing microrobots for localized cancer cell treatment’ in journal ACS nano.
FAQ
Why does this matter?
Cancer is notoriously hard to target and kill, and often the drugs used to treat it simply flood peoples bodies and create awful side effects. Targeted drugs are not only better but they're more effective and safer too.
About the author
Matthew Griffin Founder, 311 Institute
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."
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Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 15-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.
An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity program, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
As the former Global Head of Cloud, National Security, and Enterprise Sales for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, Matthew has a proven track record of building multi-billion dollar business units and turning failing divisions into market leaders. His ability to identify, analyse, and communicate the implications of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends is unparalleled, and his insights are trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Dow Jones, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, Siemens AG and Siemens Energy, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, Walmart, Workday, Worldpay and many others.
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Sources and further reading
- Acsnano.1c06651 pubs.acs.org
Source: first published by the 311 Institute on 4 August 2022. Cite as: Griffin, M. (2022). Animal shaped morphing robots can deliver cancer drugs precisely where they’re needed. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/animal-shaped-morphing-robots-can-deliver-cancer-drugs-precisely-where-their-needed/
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