The size of a single biological cell (approximately 10 microns across), a hybrid micro-robot was created by researchers at Tel Aviv University. It can be navigated and controlled using both magnetic and electric principles.
A hybrid micro-robot actually refers to a small-scale robotic system that combines multiple technologies or mechanisms to achieve its functionalities. These robots are designed to operate at a microscopic or mesoscopic scale, typically ranging from a few micrometers to a few millimeters in size.
The micro-robot can move between various cells in a biological sample, recognize various cell kinds, determine whether a cell is healthy or dying, and then carry the required cell for more research, including genetic analysis. The micro-robot can also inject a medicine or gene into the targeted single cell it has just acquired.
The advancement could aid in advancing research in the crucial subject of “single cell analysis,” as well as be useful for environmental protection, drug distribution, and screening, as well as medical diagnostics and surgery.
Prof. Gilad Yossifon from the School of Mechanical Engineering and Department of Biomedical Engineering at Tel Aviv University and his team developed the innovative technology: Post-doctoral researcher Dr. Yue Wu and student Sivan Yakov, in collaboration with Dr. Afu Fu, Post-doctoral researcher, from the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology. The research was published in the journal Advanced Science.
Prof. Gilad Yossifon explains that micro-robots (sometimes called micro-motors or active particles) are tiny synthetic particles the size of a biological cell, which can move from place to place and perform various actions (for example: collection of synthetic or biological cargo) autonomously or through external control by an operator.
Our new development significantly advances the technology in two main aspects: hybrid propulsion and navigation by two different mechanisms electric and magnetic. In addition, the micro-robot has an improved ability to identify and capture a single cell, without the need for tagging, for local testing or retrieval and transport to an external instrument. This research was carried out on biological samples in the laboratory for in-vitro assays, but the intention is to develop in the future micro-robots that will also work inside the body for example, as effective drug carriers that can be precisely guided to the target.
Professor Gilad Yossifon
According to Prof. Yossifon, “developing the micro-robot’s ability to move autonomously was inspired by biological micro-swimmers, such as bacteria and sperm cells. This is an innovative area of research that is developing rapidly, with a wide variety of uses in fields such as medicine and the environment, as well as a research tool.”
The researchers used the micro-robot to capture single blood and cancer cells as well as a single bacterium as a way to demonstrate its capabilities. They showed that it is able to distinguish between cells with different levels of viability, such as healthy cells, cells damaged by drugs, cells that are dying, or cells that are dying naturally through ‘suicide,’ (such a distinction may be important, for example, when developing anti-cancer drugs).
The micro-robot located the required cell, caught it, and transferred the cell to a location where it could be examined further. The capability of the microrobot to recognize target cells that are not tagged is another significant advance. The micro-robot uses an internal sensing system based on the distinct electrical characteristics of the cell to determine the type of cell and its state (such as degree of health).
Prof. Yossifon: “Our new development significantly advances the technology in two main aspects: hybrid propulsion and navigation by two different mechanisms electric and magnetic. In addition, the micro-robot has an improved ability to identify and capture a single cell, without the need for tagging, for local testing or retrieval and transport to an external instrument. This research was carried out on biological samples in the laboratory for in-vitro assays, but the intention is to develop in the future micro-robots that will also work inside the body for example, as effective drug carriers that can be precisely guided to the target.”
The hybrid propulsion system of the micro-robot, according to the researchers, is particularly important in physiological settings, such as those present in liquid biopsies.
“The micro-robots that have operated until now based on an electrical guiding mechanism were not effective in certain environments characterized by relatively high electrical conductivity, such as a physiological environment, where the electric drive is less effective. This is where the complementary magnetic mechanism come into play, which is very effective regardless of the electrical conductivity of the environment.”
Prof. Yossifon concludes: “In our research we developed an innovative micro-robot with important capabilities that significantly contribute to the field: hybrid propulsion and navigation through a combination of electric and magnetic fields, as well as the ability to identify, capture, and transport a single cell from place to place in a physiological environment. These capabilities are relevant for a wide variety of applications as well as for research.”
“Among other things, the technology will support the following areas: medical diagnosis at the single cell level, introducing drugs or genes into cells, genetic editing, carrying drugs to their destination inside the body, cleaning the environment from polluting particles, drug development, and creating a ‘laboratory on a particle’ a microscopic laboratory designed to carry out diagnostics in places accessible only to micro-particles.”
The field of micro-robotics is an active area of research, constantly exploring new ways to combine technologies and push the boundaries of what is possible at the micro-scale.
