Adv health mat: research and development of degradable micron anti-cancer robot

September 18, 2019 news / bioun / -- the research team of Professor hongsoo Choi of the Department of machine engineering of Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of science and Technology (dgist) and the dgist-eth micro robot research center (demrc) in South Korea has successfully developed a kind of biodegradable micro robot, which can perform thermotherapy and control drug release This study can treat cancer more accurately and systematically through thermotherapy and drug controlled release, which is expected to improve the safety and efficiency of anti-cancer treatment Cancer treatment can be carried out in many ways, such as drug therapy, hyperthermia, radiotherapy and surgery Although drug therapy is the most commonly used method, it is difficult to deliver the required dose to a certain part of the body because of its high dependence on circulatory function Although hyperthermia has become popular recently due to its low side effects, it is difficult to deliver it to any part of the body To overcome these limitations, Professor hongsoo Choi's research team at dgist developed a 3D biodegradable micro robot that can carry magnetic nanoparticles and drugs through 3D laser lithography Photo source: advanced healthcare materials to use micro robots inside the human body, it must be degraded in the body, or recycled after use, to reduce additional harmful effects As a result, the team built a micro robot from biodegradable polymers and designed it to be biodegradable when fully used It can also use the external magnetic field through wireless control to carry out drug transport quickly and accurately When the high frequency alternating magnetic field is sent to the robot when it reaches the required body part, the heat generated by the magnetic nano particles inside the micro robot makes the surrounding temperature rise, and the target area is heated A major achievement of this study is to control the intensity and exposure time of alternating magnetic field to achieve the accurate release of drugs The team confirmed the remarkable effect of microrobot hyperthermia on cancer cells cultured in vitro, and the therapeutic effect of alternative magnetic field controlling different drug release modes Professor Choi of demrc said: "we hope to improve the treatment of cancer through our research, improve the efficiency of cancer treatment and reduce side effects Through continuous follow-up research with hospitals and related companies, we will strive to develop accurate treatment systems based on micro robots, which can be used in actual medical sites "References: Jongeon Park et al, Magnetically Actuated Degradable Microrobots for Actively Controlled Drug Release and Hyperthermia Therapy, Advanced Healthcare Materials (2019) Doi: 10.1002/adhm.201900213