A common feature of sci-fi is the usage of nanomachines — small machines/robots whose dimensions are measured nanometer — in order to provide various benefits to the human body. Thanks to a recently-published research paper, there is now strong evidence that suggests such machines — albeit not necessarily as small — won't be a thing of fiction for much longer.
Researchers from the Ecole Polytechnique Federale Lausanne (EPFL) and the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETHZ) have designed a prototype shape-shifting robot that imitates a bacterium whose tail folds away upon entering the bloodstream.
Published in the journal Nature Communications, the paper detalls that there is now a way to create robots equipped with the means to transport drugs to specific locations throughout the body via the bloodstream, as well as to provide the help needed when in the middle of difficult operations.
So, what's the deal with these micro-robots? Researchers say the bio-inspired robots, which are soft, flexible and motor-less, were created by using biocompatible hydrogel and magnetic nanoparticles that serve two purposes. First, the nanoparticles give the robots their shape during the manufacturing process. Second, they react to electromagnetic fields, prompting them to swim and move whenever the fields are applied.
Contrary to their small size, the process to create these robots is quite involved. To start, the nanoparticles are placed inside layers of a biocompatible hydrogel. Next, the team applied an electromagnetic field to orientate the nanoparticles at different parts of the microbots, followed by a polymerization step for the solidification of the hydrogel. Afterward, the robot is placed underwater, where it folds in specific ways depending on the nanoparticles' orientation inside the gel, allowing scientists to form the final 3D architecture of the microbot.
Once that shape is achieved, scientists, as mentioned before, use electromagnetic fields to make the robot swim. Furthermore, a laser beam can be used to heat the robot, causing it to change shape.
The end result of all this is the creation of a robot that mimics the behavior of the African trypanosomiasis, a parasitic bacterium that uses its flagellum (tail) for propulsion, but wraps it around itself when inside the host's body.
It should be noted, however, that these microbots are still in development and not yet ready for real operations or drug delivery. There are still several factors that need to be examined first, such as the possible side-effects the microbots will have on a patient's body.
