Wirelessly Powered Soft Magnetic Robot with Microneedle for Electrical Stimulation and Drug Delivery
Electrical stimulation and microneedle‐mediated drug delivery emerge as promising therapies in gastrointestinal (GI) motility disorders and inflammatory conditions. However, on‐demand intervention therapy in enclosed narrow GI remains a challenge. Herein, a magnetic‐driven soft membrane robot is presented that synergistically combines microneedle‐mediated electrical stimulation and drug delivery. The membrane robot's bipolar magnetization enables switching between two surfaces by external magnetic fields, where N‐pole drives treatment surface with microneedle to penetrate GI wall and S‐pole initiates smooth surface for low resistance locomotion. The membrane robot utilizes magnetically coupled resonant wireless transmission to enable regulated electrical stimulation with 86.7% efficiency at 6 cm distance, while providing tunable voltage (0–20 V) and programmable pulse waveforms (0.4–50 ms width) for adaptive bioelectrical modulation. The drug‐loaded microneedle array serves dual roles as both a penetrating electrode and a therapeutic interface, delivering electrical stimulation while simultaneously releasing encapsulated agents upon tissue penetration. In vitro experiments of the multimode motion and multifunctional treatment are validated in a fresh pig gut. This integrated membrane magnetic robot offers great potential in GI diagnostics, personalized neuromodulation, and on‐demand drug release applications.
Authors
- Shengbin Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5740-2364)
- Meng Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9761-6802)
- Xueshan Jing
- Xinzhao Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5912-5591)
- Yipan Zuo
- Huawei Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1766-421X)
- Liwen Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9645-3973)
- Botao Ma
- Song Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-5897-0673)
Institutions
- Beihang University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Intelligent Systems
- Published
- 2025-10-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/aisy.202500382
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities