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Minuscule Robots for Targeted Drug Delivery


An interdisciplinary team led by Wei Gao has created tiny bubble-like microrobots that can deliver therapeutics right where they are needed and then be absorbed by the body.

However, thus far, their applications in living systems have been limited because it is extremely challenging to move objects with precision in complex biofluids such as blood, urine, or saliva, Gao says. To develop the hydrogel recipe and to make the microstructures, Gao turned to Caltech's Julia R. Greer, the Ruben F. and Donna Mettler Professor of Materials Science, Mechanics and Medical Engineering, the Fletcher Jones Foundation Director of the Kavli Nanoscience Institute, and co-corresponding author of the paper. Greer's group has expertise in two-photon polymerization (TPP) lithography, a technique that uses extremely fast pulses of infrared laser light to selectively cross-link photosensitive polymers according to a particular pattern in a very precise manner.

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minuscule robots