Towards multifunctional robotic pills.

Journal: Nature biomedical engineering
Published Date: Nov 1, 2024

Abstract

Robotic pills leverage the advantages of oral pharmaceutical formulations-in particular, convenient encapsulation, high loading capacity, ease of manufacturing and high patient compliance-as well as the multifunctionality, increasing miniaturization and sophistication of microrobotic systems. In this Perspective, we provide an overview of major innovations in the development of robotic pills-specifically, oral pills embedded with robotic capabilities based on microneedles, microinjectors, microstirrers or microrockets-summarize current progress and applicational gaps of the technology, and discuss its prospects. We argue that the integration of multiple microrobotic functions within oral delivery systems alongside accurate control of the release characteristics of their payload provides a basis for realizing sophisticated multifunctional robotic pills that operate as closed-loop systems.

Authors

  • Rodolfo Mundaca-Uribe
    Department of Nanoengineering and Chemical Engineering Program, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
  • Nelly Askarinam
    Department of Nanoengineering and Chemical Engineering Program, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
  • Ronnie H Fang
    Department of NanoEngineering and Chemical Engineering Program, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
  • Liangfang Zhang
    Department of NanoEngineering , University of California, San Diego , La Jolla , California 92093 , United States.
  • Joseph Wang
    Department of NanoEngineering , University of California, San Diego , La Jolla , California 92093 , United States.

Keywords

External Resources

Popular Topics
Recent Journals