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Multi-Legged Magnetic Soft Robot for On-Demand Targeted Delivery in Pulmonary Environments.

Liqun Zhang^1,2, Yibin Wang^1,2, Leiming Xie^1,2

¹School of Science and Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, China.

Advanced Materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)

|July 6, 2026

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This summary is machine-generated.

A novel magnetic soft robot navigates complex airways for precise deep-lung drug delivery. This robot offers adaptive locomotion and on-demand drug release, overcoming challenges in treating respiratory diseases.

Area of Science:

Biomedical Engineering
Robotics
Pulmonology

Background:

Intrabronchial drug delivery is crucial for respiratory diseases.
Current methods like inhalation and bronchoscopes face challenges in precise deep-lung delivery due to passive transport and limited maneuverability in narrow airways.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop a minimally invasive, magnetic-driven soft robot for precise and targeted drug delivery within the lung.
To enhance adaptivity and maneuverability in complex bronchial pathways.

Main Methods:

A magnetic-driven soft robot with a multi-legged structure was designed.
The robot utilizes multimodal locomotion (rolling, stick-slip, crawling) and adaptive mode transitions.
A magnetothermal-triggered mechanism for on-demand liquid drug release was integrated.

Keywords:

magnetic microrobots miniature soft robots on‐demand drug release

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Main Results:

The robot demonstrated precise navigation in complex phantom airways and the distal bronchial tree.
Magnetothermal-induced drug release was successfully achieved.
Ex vivo validation in a porcine lung showed successful distal navigation, targeted drug delivery, and robot retrieval.

Conclusions:

The developed magnetic soft robot offers a promising solution for minimally invasive, targeted deep-lung drug delivery.
Its adaptive locomotion and on-demand release mechanism address limitations of current intrabronchial drug delivery methods.