title: Untethered magnetic millirobot for targeted drug delivery.
abstract: This paper reports the design and development of a novel millimeter-sized robotic system for targeted therapy. The proposed medical robot is conceived to perform therapy in relatively small diameter body canals (spine, urinary system, ovary, etc.), and to release several kinds of therapeutics, depending on the pathology to be treated. The robot is a nearly-buoyant bi-component system consisting of a carrier, in which the therapeutic agent is embedded, and a piston. The piston, by exploiting magnetic effects, docks with the carrier and compresses a drug-loaded hydrogel, thus activating the release mechanism. External magnetic fields are exploited to propel the robot towards the target region, while intermagnetic forces are exploited to trigger drug release. After designing and fabricating the robot, the system has been tested in vitro with an anticancer drug (doxorubicin) embedded in the carrier. The efficiency of the drug release mechanism has been demonstrated by both quantifying the amount of drug released and by assessing the efficacy of this therapeutic procedure on human bladder cancer cells.
authors.affiliation: The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Viale Rinaldo Piaggio, 34, 56025, Pontedera, Pisa, Italy, v.iacovacci@sssup.it.
authors.forename: Veronica
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Iacovacci
authors.forename: Gioia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lucarini
authors.forename: Leonardo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ricotti
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dario
authors.forename: Pierre E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Dupont
authors.forename: Arianna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Menciassi
mesh_terms: D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004317:Doxorubicin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D006801:Humans; D015918:Infusion Pumps, Implantable; D056656:Lab-On-A-Chip Devices; D060526:Magnetic Fields; D059346:Magnets; D008904:Miniaturization; D012371:Robotics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D001749:Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D004317:Doxorubicin