Cooperative Magnetic Interfacial Microrobot Couple for Versatile Non-Contact Biomedical Applications

Magnetic interfacial microrobots are increasingly recognized as a promising approach for potential biomedical applications ranging from electronic functionalization to minimally invasive surgery and targeted drug delivery. Nevertheless, existing research faces challenges, including less cooperative interactions, contact-based cargo manipulation, and slow transport velocity. Here, the cooperative magnetic interfacial microrobot couple (CMIMC) is proposed to address the above challenges. The CMIMC can be maneuvered by a single magnet and readily switched between capture and release states. By leveraging cooperative interactions and meticulous engineering of capillary forces through shape design and surface treatment, the CMIMC demonstrates the ability to perform non-contact cargo manipulation. Using the synergy of preferred magnetization directions and magnetic field distribution, along with optimization of the resistance-reducing shape, the CMIMC significantly enhances the cargo transport velocity, reaching 12.2 body length per second. The studies demonstrate various biomedical applications like targeted drug delivery and myomectomy, paving the way for the broad implementation of interfacial microrobots in biomedical fields.