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Modified-Release Drug Delivery Systems: Stimuli-Activated01:30

Modified-Release Drug Delivery Systems: Stimuli-Activated

Stimuli-activated drug delivery systems are designed to release drugs in response to specific physical, chemical, or biological stimuli. These systems often utilize hydrogels—three-dimensional, hydrophilic polymer networks capable of swelling in aqueous environments and retaining significant fluid volumes. Upon exposure to particular stimuli, these hydrogels undergo structural transitions that allow the embedded drug to be released. Due to this adaptive behavior, such systems are also called...

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Folding and Characterization of a Bio-responsive Robot from DNA Origami
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Stimuli-Responsive Functional Micro-/Nanorobots: A Review.

Yan Zhou1, Min Ye1, Chengzhi Hu2

  • 1Shenzhen Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for Society (AIRS), The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518129, China.

ACS Nano
|August 3, 2023
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Stimuli-responsive functional micro-/nanorobots (srFM/Ns) intelligently adapt to external cues for diverse applications. This review overviews their mechanisms, functions, and challenges to guide future advancements in intelligent microrobotics.

Keywords:
applicationsbiological stimulusfunctional micro-/nanorobotsmagnetic stimuluspH stimulusphotic stimulusstimuli-responding mechanismsthermal stimulusultrasonic stimulus

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Area of Science:

  • Intelligent microrobotics
  • Biomedical engineering
  • Materials science

Background:

  • Stimuli-responsive functional micro-/nanorobots (srFM/Ns) are intelligent microrobots capable of reacting to external stimuli.
  • These robots adapt their form to perform specific tasks in various applications.
  • Few reviews comprehensively cover srFM/Ns, necessitating an overview.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To provide a comprehensive review of current advances in stimuli-responsive functional micro-/nanorobots.
  • To summarize their response mechanisms, functions, and applications.
  • To highlight the pros and cons of different stimuli and identify future research directions.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of stimuli-responsive functional micro-/nanorobots.
  • Analysis of response mechanisms to various stimuli (temperature, light, ultrasound, pH, ion, magnetic field).
  • Evaluation of achieved functions and applications in targeted therapy, biological detection, and tissue engineering.

Main Results:

  • Detailed summary of srFM/Ns' adaptive transformation capabilities.
  • Highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of different stimuli-response strategies.
  • Identification of key applications and their current state.

Conclusions:

  • Stimuli-responsive functional micro-/nanorobots show significant promise for targeted therapy, biological detection, and tissue engineering.
  • Further research is needed to overcome existing challenges and accelerate their translation to practical applications.
  • This review provides insights to inspire future development in the field of intelligent microrobotics.