Biodegradable Microrobots and Their Biomedical Applications: A Review.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Materials Science
• Robotics

Background:

• Microrobots are increasingly utilized in biomedicine for complex in vivo tasks.
• Biodegradability is crucial for clinical applications to prevent toxic residue.
• External fields or chemical reactions power these untethered microdevices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review and analyze different types of biodegradable microrobots.
• To critically discuss their advantages, limitations, and chemical degradation mechanisms.
• To investigate their in vivo suitability for biomedical applications, particularly targeted delivery.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of biodegradable microrobots.
• Analysis of chemical degradation mechanisms and in vivo environments.
• Evaluation of applications, feasibility, and limitations.

Main Results:

• Biodegradable microrobots show potential in targeted delivery, imaging, and tissue engineering.
• Degradation mechanisms and in vivo environments significantly impact their suitability.
• Current limitations include manufacturing, control, degradation rate, and insufficient in vivo testing.

Conclusions:

• Biodegradable microrobots are promising for clinical use, but further research is needed.
• Optimizing manufacturing, control, and degradation rates is essential.
• Extensive in vivo testing is required to ensure safety and efficacy for future applications.