Clinically ready magnetic microrobots for targeted therapies
Systemic drug administration often causes off-target effects, limiting the efficacy of advanced therapies. Targeted drug delivery approaches increase local drug concentrations at the diseased site while minimizing systemic drug exposure. We present a magnetically guided microrobotic drug delivery platform capable of precise navigation under physiological conditions. This platform integrates a clinical electromagnetic navigation system, a custom-designed release catheter, and a dissolvable capsule for accurate therapeutic delivery. In vitro tests showed precise navigation in human vasculature models, and in vivo experiments confirmed tracking under fluoroscopy and successful navigation in large animal models. The microrobot balances magnetic material concentration, contrast agent loading, and therapeutic drug capacity, offering a promising solution for precise targeted drug delivery.
Authors
- Miriam Weisskopf (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6012-3051)
- Michael Mattmann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6365-6336)
- Philipp Gruber (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8464-3051)
- Lukas Hertle
- Oliver Brinkmann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-3138-6526)
- Simone Gervasoni (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1907-5710)
- Kirstin Meiners (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-0667-0637)
- Tilman B. Schubert (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2373-5870)
- Zsolt Kulcsár (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6805-5150)
- Andreas D. Flouris (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9823-3915)
- Derick Sivakumaran (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3312-1004)
- Fabian C. Landers (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6935-9391)
- Semih Sevim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1461-1606)
- X.L. Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-5282-5851)
- Çağatay M. Oral (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5220-2104)
- Andrea Veciana (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0060-0949)
- Valentin Gantenbein (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-8018-7326)
- Nicole Ochsenbein-Kölble
- Vitaly Pustovalov (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-2582-7678)
- Josep Puigmartí-Luis
- Silas Riss (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-9820-6332)
- Pascal Theiler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-7596-1086)
- Quentin Boehler
- Christophe Chautems
- Pedro Henrique Castro Alves
- et al.
- Tiago Sotto Mayor
- Ueli Moehrlen
- Tessa Lühmann
- Hao Ye
- Salvador Pané
Publication Details
- Journal
- Universität Zürich, ZORA
- Published
- 2025-11-13
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-283125
- Primary Topic
- Micro and Nano Robotics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00