Biointegrated Micro/Nano-Robots: Design, Applications, and Future

Area of Science:

• Bioengineering
• Robotics
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Conventional micro/nano-robots face limitations in biocompatibility and control within physiological environments.
• Biointegrated micro/nano-robots (BI-MNRs) leverage biological components for enhanced motility and sensing.
• Biointegration addresses challenges like shear flow and immune surveillance inherent in micro-robotics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the principles and control strategies of biointegrated micro/nano-robots (BI-MNRs).
• To compare different cell-based platforms for BI-MNR fabrication.
• To highlight recent advances and future directions in BI-MNR applications.

Main Methods:

• Review of locomotion principles in microscopic environments.
• Discussion of control strategies using magnetic, light, acoustic, chemical, and electrical stimuli.
• Comparison of design and fabrication architectures for bacterial, algal, germ cell, and somatic cell-based BI-MNRs.

Main Results:

• BI-MNRs demonstrate potential in targeted therapy, medical imaging, and environmental remediation.
• Advances include improved targeted delivery, multimodal imaging, biofilm eradication, biosensing, and pollutant removal.
• Key challenges identified in control robustness, fabrication, stability, safety, and ethics.

Conclusions:

• BI-MNRs offer superior adaptability and controllability over conventional micro/nano-robots.
• Future research should focus on swarm coordination, scenario-driven design, and environmental compatibility.
• Overcoming current challenges is crucial for the successful translation of BI-MNRs into practical applications.