Permanent magnetic droplet-derived microrobots.

Journal: Science advances
Published Date: Jul 9, 2025

Abstract

Microrobots hold substantial potential for precision medicine. However, challenges remain in balancing multifunctional cargo loading with efficient locomotion and in predicting behavior in complex biological environments. Here, we present permanent magnetic droplet-derived microrobots (PMDMs) with superior cargo loading capacity and dynamic locomotion capabilities. Produced rapidly via cascade tubing microfluidics, PMDMs can self-assemble, disassemble, and reassemble into chains that autonomously switch among four locomotion modes-walking, crawling, swinging, and lateral movement. Their reconfigurable design allows navigation through complex and constrained biomimetic environments, including obstacle negotiation and stair climbing with record speed at the submillimeter scale. We also developed a molecular dynamics-based computational platform that predicts PMDM assembly and motion. PMDMs demonstrated precise, programmable cargo delivery (e.g., drugs and cells) with postdelivery retrieval. These results establish a physical and in silico foundation for future microrobot design and represent a key step toward clinical translation.

Authors

  • Yuanxiong Cao
    Department of Materials, Department of Bioengineering and Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
  • Ruoxiao Xie
    Department of Materials, Department of Bioengineering and Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
  • Philipp W A Schönhöfer
    Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
  • Ross Burdis
    Department of Materials, Department of Bioengineering and Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
  • Richard Wang
    Department of Materials, Department of Bioengineering and Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
  • Rujie Sun
    Department of Materials, Department of Bioengineering and Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
  • Kai Xie
    National Demonstration Center for Experimental Electrical and Electronic Education, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434023, China. 500646@yangtzeu.edu.cn.
  • Jiawen Zou
    Department of Materials, Department of Bioengineering and Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
  • Xin Song
    State Key Laboratory of Esophageal Cancer Prevention & Treatment and Henan Key Laboratory for Esophageal Cancer Research of the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450052, China.
  • Qiao You Lau
    Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, Department of Engineering Science, Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QU, UK.
  • Junliang Lin
    Department of Materials, Department of Bioengineering and Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
  • Jang Ah Kim
    Department of Materials, Department of Bioengineering and Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
  • Dimitar Georgiev
    Department of Materials, Department of Bioengineering and Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
  • Jiyuan Tang
    Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, Department of Engineering Science, Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QU, UK.
  • Ho-Cheung Ng
  • Olga Bibikova
    Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, Department of Engineering Science, Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QU, UK.
  • Yuyang Zuo
    Department of Materials, Department of Bioengineering, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK.
  • Xiangrong L Lu
    Department of Materials, Department of Bioengineering and Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
  • Sharon C Glotzer
    Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
  • Molly M Stevens
    Department of Materials, Department of Bioengineering, and Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, U.K.

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