TY - JOUR
T1 - Ultrasoft hydrogel immune millirobot with multimodal locomotion
AU - Zheng, Zhiqiang
AU - Demir, Sinan Ozgun
AU - Wu, Anping
AU - Zhong, Shihao
AU - Xin, Zhengyuan
AU - Yuan, Chunxu
AU - Wang, Huaping
AU - Sitti, Metin
AU - Sun, Yu
AU - Dong, Lixin
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2025 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial License 4.0 (CC BY-NC).
PY - 2025/12/3
Y1 - 2025/12/3
N2 - Advancements in cellular immunotherapy demanded efficient immune cell delivery. To meet this need, we intro duced hydrogel-based immune millirobots designed for high immune cell loading and precise tumor targeting. These ultrasoft robots, embedded with magnetic nanoparticles, exhibited adaptable locomotion: walking, rolling, climbing, and undulating, enabling navigation through complex biological environments and alignment with var ied tumor morphologies. They responded to magnetic fields and ionic or pH changes, facilitating propulsion, grasping, and localized delivery. In vitro, the millirobots eradicated three-dimensional tumor models in four days; in vivo, they notably reduced tumor growth in HepG2-luc tumor-bearing nude mice within 15 days. Biolumines cence imaging confirmed enhanced natural killer cell activity at tumor sites. The robots demonstrated excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability and caused no adverse effects postimplantation. This work showcased a responsive, soft robotic system with potential for advancing immune cell delivery and exploring tumor-immune dynamics in cancer therapy.
AB - Advancements in cellular immunotherapy demanded efficient immune cell delivery. To meet this need, we intro duced hydrogel-based immune millirobots designed for high immune cell loading and precise tumor targeting. These ultrasoft robots, embedded with magnetic nanoparticles, exhibited adaptable locomotion: walking, rolling, climbing, and undulating, enabling navigation through complex biological environments and alignment with var ied tumor morphologies. They responded to magnetic fields and ionic or pH changes, facilitating propulsion, grasping, and localized delivery. In vitro, the millirobots eradicated three-dimensional tumor models in four days; in vivo, they notably reduced tumor growth in HepG2-luc tumor-bearing nude mice within 15 days. Biolumines cence imaging confirmed enhanced natural killer cell activity at tumor sites. The robots demonstrated excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability and caused no adverse effects postimplantation. This work showcased a responsive, soft robotic system with potential for advancing immune cell delivery and exploring tumor-immune dynamics in cancer therapy.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105023738480
U2 - 10.1126/sciadv.adw9133
DO - 10.1126/sciadv.adw9133
M3 - Article
C2 - 41337587
AN - SCOPUS:105023738480
SN - 2375-2548
VL - 11
SP - 1
EP - 12
JO - Science advances
JF - Science advances
IS - 49
ER -