Biohybrid Flexible Sperm-like Microrobot for Targeted Chemo-Photothermal Therapy

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Magnetic microrobots show promise for targeted drug delivery.
• Developing flexible magnetic microrobots with versatile therapeutic capabilities remains a challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel strategy for fabricating biohybrid flexible sperm-like microrobots (BFSMs).
• To investigate the potential of BFSMs for targeted chemo-photothermal therapy.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Chlorella cells as microrobotic heads, depositing Pd@Au nanoparticles and magnetizing with Fe3O4.
• Loaded microrobotic heads with anticancer drugs and assembled with polypyrrole nanowire flagella.
• Engineered BFSMs for propulsion using precessing magnetic fields and conducted in vitro chemo-photothermal tests.

Main Results:

• Successfully fabricated flexible, sperm-like microrobots with magnetic and photothermal properties.
• Demonstrated effective targeted drug delivery and chemo-photothermal therapy against HeLa cells in vitro.
• BFSMs exhibited controlled propulsion and movement capabilities.

Conclusions:

• The developed BFSMs offer a versatile and facile platform for targeted anticancer therapy.
• This biohybrid approach holds significant potential for advancing drug delivery systems.
• The study highlights the efficacy of combined chemo-photothermal therapy using engineered microrobots.