A review paper by scientists at the Beijing Institute of Technology summarized the recent research on field-controlled microrobots fabricated by photopolymerization.
The new review paper, published on Jun. 6 in the journal Cyborg and Bionic Systems, provided an overview the photopolymerization technologies utilized in the fabrication of field-controlled microrobots and introduced the photopolymerized microrobots actuated by different field forces and their functions.
"Field-controlled microrobots have attracted extensive research in the biological and medical fields due to the prominent characteristics including high flexibility, small size, strong controllability, remote manipulation, and minimal damage to living organisms." explained study author Xiaoming Liu, a professor at the Beijing Institute of Technology.
Microrobots have become one of the most promising tools in the biomedical field due to their increasing abilities of minimally invasive surgery, targeted therapy, and cell manipulation. "Employing photopolymerization in the fabrication of field-controlled microrobots provides an ideal solution", said study authors. Thus, they reviewed the photopolymerization technologies utilized in the fabrication of field-controlled microrobots and introduced the photopolymerized microrobots actuated by different field forces and their functions.
Photopolymerization technology promotes the progress of field-controlled microrobots in many terms, including manipulation accuracy, function, flexibility, and size. "The requirements on the structure, material, and size of field-controlled microrobots also positively accelerate the development of photopolymerization technology," said Liu.
The study authors discussed recent advances in actuating microrobots via magnetic, optical, acoustic, and electric fields and the respectively utilized photopolymerization methods. Microrobots controlled by optical tweezer, for example, the joint microrobot based on two-photon polymerization enables indirect manipulation of biological cells.
Looking forward, the main future developing directions of the field-controlled microrobots fabricated by photopolymerization, including the smart materials and capabilities for real applications. Besides, the development of field-assisted photopolymerization technology may improve multi-material fabricating capabilities and the producibility of complex designs. It is also critical to select suitable and effective control methods to meet the requirements of complex environments and tasks in vivo clinical. Collaborative control of microrobots through multiple combinations of physics may be a viable approach.
"The improvement of printing technology, the development of new materials, and the rational design of multiple control methods, field-controlled microrobots fabricated by photopolymerization with better performance will usher in vigorous development." said Liu. The review paper calls for researchers, medical professionals, engineers, and other experts to collaboratively marshal the research on field-controlled microrobots fabricated by photopolymerization into practical applications in clinical settings.
Authors of the paper include Xiyue Liang, Zhuo Chen, Yan Deng, Dan Liu, Xiaoming Liu, Qiang Huang, and Tatsuo Arai.
National Natural Science Foundation of China under grants 62273052, 61873037, and 61903039; and the National Key R&D Program of China (2017YFA0701102).
The paper, "Field-Controlled Microrobots Fabricated by Photopolymerization" was published in the journal Cyborg and Bionic Systems on June 6, 2023, at DOI: https://doi.org/10.34133/cbsystems.0009.
