Ultrasound Doppler-guided real-time navigation of a magnetic microswarm for active endovascular delivery

Magnetic Microrobot Swarms with Polymeric Hands Catching Bacteria and Microplastics in Water

The forefront of micro- and nanorobot research involves the development of smart swimming micromachines emulating the complexity of natural systems, such as the swarming and collective behaviors typically observed in animals and microorganisms, for efficient task execution. This study introduces magnetically controlled microrobots that possess polymeric sequestrant "hands" decorating a magnetic core. Under the influence of external magnetic fields, the functionalized magnetic beads dynamically self-assemble from individual microparticles into well-defined rotating planes of diverse dimensions, allowing modulation of their propulsion speed, and exhibiting a collective motion. These mobile microrobotic swarms can actively capture free-swimming bacteria and dispersed microplastics "on-the-fly", thereby cleaning aquatic environments. Unlike conventional methods, these microrobots can be collected from the complex media and can release the captured contaminants in a second vessel in a controllable manner, that is, using ultrasound, offering a sustainable solution for repeated use in decontamination processes. Additionally, the residual water is subjected to UV irradiation to eliminate any remaining bacteria, providing a comprehensive cleaning solution. In summary, this study shows a swarming microrobot design for water decontamination processes.

Recent advances in micro/nanomotors for antibacterial applications

Currently, the rapid spread of multidrug-resistant bacteria derived from the indiscriminate use of traditional antibiotics poses a significant threat to public health worldwide. Moreover, established bacterial biofilms are extremely difficult to eradicate because of their high tolerance to traditional antimicrobial agents and extraordinary resistance to phagocytosis. Hence, it is of universal significance to develop novel robust and efficient antibacterial strategies to combat bacterial infections. Micro/nanomotors exhibit many intriguing properties, including enhanced mass transfer and micro-mixing resulting from their locomotion, intrinsic antimicrobial capabilities, active cargo delivery, and targeted treatment with precise micromanipulation, which facilitate the targeted delivery of antimicrobials to infected sites and their deep permeation into sites of bacterial biofilms for fast inactivation. Thus, the ideal antimicrobial activity of antibacterial micro/nanorobots makes them desirable alternatives to traditional antimicrobial treatments and has aroused extensive interest in recent years. In this review, recent advancements in antibacterial micro/nanomotors are briefly summarized, focusing on their synthetic methods, propulsion mechanism, and versatile antibacterial applications. Finally, some personal insights into the current challenges and possible future directions to translate proof-of-concept research to clinic application are proposed.

Swarm Autonomy: From Agent Functionalization to Machine Intelligence

Swarm behaviors are common in nature, where individual organisms collaborate via perception, communication, and adaptation. Emulating these dynamics, large groups of active agents can self-organize through localized interactions, giving rise to complex swarm behaviors, which exhibit potential for applications across various domains. This review presents a comprehensive summary and perspective of synthetic swarms, to bridge the gap between the microscale individual agents and potential applications of synthetic swarms. It is begun by examining active agents, the fundamental units of synthetic swarms, to understand the origins of their motility and functionality in the presence of external stimuli. Then inter-agent communications and agent-environment communications that contribute to the swarm generation are summarized. Furthermore, the swarm behaviors reported to date and the emergence of machine intelligence within these behaviors are reviewed. Eventually, the applications enabled by distinct synthetic swarms are summarized. By discussing the emergent machine intelligence in swarm behaviors, insights are offered into the design and deployment of autonomous synthetic swarms for real-world applications.

Integrated Actuation and Sensing: Toward Intelligent Soft Robots

Soft robotics has received substantial attention due to its remarkable deformability, making it well-suited for a wide range of applications in complex environments, such as medicine, rescue operations, and exploration. Within this domain, the interaction of actuation and sensing is of utmost importance for controlling the movements and functions of soft robots. Nonetheless, current research predominantly focuses on isolated actuation and sensing capabilities, often neglecting the critical integration of these 2 domains to achieve intelligent functionality. In this review, we present a comprehensive survey of fundamental actuation strategies and multimodal actuation while also delving into advancements in proprioceptive and haptic sensing and their fusion. We emphasize the importance of integrating actuation and sensing in soft robotics, presenting 3 integration methodologies, namely, sensor surface integration, sensor internal integration, and closed-loop system integration based on sensor feedback. Furthermore, we highlight the challenges in the field and suggest compelling directions for future research. Through this comprehensive synthesis, we aim to stimulate further curiosity among researchers and contribute to the development of genuinely intelligent soft robots.

Recent advances in targeted drug delivery for the treatment of glioblastoma

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is one of the highly malignant brain tumors characterized by significant morbidity and mortality. Despite the recent advancements in the treatment of GBM, major challenges persist in achieving controlled drug delivery to tumors. The management of GBM poses considerable difficulties primarily due to unresolved issues in the blood-brain barrier (BBB)/blood-brain tumor barrier (BBTB) and GBM microenvironment. These factors limit the uptake of anti-cancer drugs by the tumor, thus limiting the therapeutic options. Current breakthroughs in nanotechnology provide new prospects concerning unconventional drug delivery approaches for GBM treatment. Specifically, swimming nanorobots show great potential in active targeted delivery, owing to their autonomous propulsion and improved navigation capacities across biological barriers, which further facilitate the development of GBM-targeted strategies. This review presents an overview of technological progress in different drug administration methods for GBM. Additionally, the limitations in clinical translation and future research prospects in this field are also discussed. This review aims to provide a comprehensive guideline for researchers and offer perspectives on further development of new drug delivery therapies to combat GBM.

Dual-Functional Laser-Guided Magnetic Nanorobot Collectives against Gravity for On-Demand Thermo-Chemotherapy of Peritoneal Metastasis

Combining hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy with cytoreductive surgery is the main treatment modality for peritoneal metastatic (PM) carcinoma despite the off-target effects of chemotherapy drugs and the ineluctable side effects of total abdominal heating. Herein, a laser-integrated magnetic actuation system that actively delivers doxorubicin (DOX)-grafted magnetic nanorobot collectives to the tumor site in model mice for local hyperthermia and chemotherapy is reported. With intraluminal movements controlled by a torque-force hybrid magnetic field, these magnetic nanorobots gather at a fixed point coinciding with the position of the localization laser, moving upward against gravity over a long distance and targeting tumor sites under ultrasound imaging guidance. Because aggregation enhances the photothermal effect, controlled local DOX release is achieved under near-infrared laser irradiation. The targeted on-demand photothermal therapy of multiple PM carcinomas while minimizing off-target tissue damage is demonstrated. Additionally, a localization/treatment dual-functional laser-integrated magnetic actuation system is developed and validated in vivo, offering a potentially clinically feasible drug delivery strategy for targeting PM and other intraluminal tumors.

Mimicking Motor Proteins: Wall-Guided Self-Navigation of Microwheels

Untethered micro/nanorobots (MNRs) show great promise in biomedicine. However, high-precision targeted in vivo navigation of MNRs into both deep and tiny microtube networks comes with big challenges because the present medical imaging cannot simultaneously meet the requirements of high resolution, high penetration depth, and high real-time performance. Inspired by intracellular motor proteins that transport cargo along cytoskeletal tracks, this study proposed a microtube inwall-guided targeted self-navigation strategy of magnetic microwheels (μ-wheels) that relies only on interactions with a microtube inwall, compared to conventional techniques that rely on real-time imaging and tracking of MNRs. By presetting the direction of the rotating magnetic field, the μ-wheel realized targeted navigation along the inwall. The propulsion principles behind it are elaborated. The targeted self-navigation of the μ-wheels in three-dimensional microtube networks, a spiral microtube, and an intrahepatic bile duct of a pig was conducted. Lastly, based on the strategy, a practical tumor early detection method was proposed and verified by means of magnetic resonance imaging. The microtube inwall-guided targeted self-navigation strategy reduces the dependence of in vivo targeted navigation of MNRs on the real-time performance of medical imaging technology and greatly contributes to the development of MNRs in biomedical applications.

Untethered Microgrippers for Precision Medicine

Microgrippers, a branch of micro/nanorobots, refer to motile miniaturized machines that are of a size in the range of several to hundreds of micrometers. Compared with tethered grippers or other microscopic diagnostic and surgical equipment, untethered microgrippers play an indispensable role in biomedical applications because of their characteristics such as miniaturized size, dexterous shape tranformation, and  controllable motion, which enables the microgrippers to enter hard-to-reach regions to execute specific medical tasks for disease diagnosis and treatment. To date, numerous medical microgrippers are developed, and their potential in cell manipulation, targeted drug delivery, biopsy, and minimally invasive surgery  are explored. To achieve controlled locomotion and efficient target-oriented actions, the materials, size, microarchitecture, and morphology of microgrippers shall be deliberately designed. In this review, the authors summarizes the latest progress in untethered micrometer-scale grippers. The working mechanisms of shape-morphing and actuation methods for effective movement are first introduced. Then, the design principle and state-of-the-art fabrication techniques of microgrippers are discussed. Finally, their applications in the precise medicine are highlighted, followed by offering future perspectives for the development of untethered medical microgrippers.

AI-enhanced biomedical micro/nanorobots in microfluidics

Human beings encompass sophisticated microcirculation and microenvironments, incorporating a broad spectrum of microfluidic systems that adopt fundamental roles in orchestrating physiological mechanisms. In vitro recapitulation of human microenvironments based on lab-on-a-chip technology represents a critical paradigm to better understand the intricate mechanisms. Moreover, the advent of micro/nanorobotics provides brand new perspectives and dynamic tools for elucidating the complex process in microfluidics. Currently, artificial intelligence (AI) has endowed micro/nanorobots (MNRs) with unprecedented benefits, such as material synthesis, optimal design, fabrication, and swarm behavior. Using advanced AI algorithms, the motion control, environment perception, and swarm intelligence of MNRs in microfluidics are significantly enhanced. This emerging interdisciplinary research trend holds great potential to propel biomedical research to the forefront and make valuable contributions to human health. Herein, we initially introduce the AI algorithms integral to the development of MNRs. We briefly revisit the components, designs, and fabrication techniques adopted by robots in microfluidics with an emphasis on the application of AI. Then, we review the latest research pertinent to AI-enhanced MNRs, focusing on their motion control, sensing abilities, and intricate collective behavior in microfluidics. Furthermore, we spotlight biomedical domains that are already witnessing or will undergo game-changing evolution based on AI-enhanced MNRs. Finally, we identify the current challenges that hinder the practical use of the pioneering interdisciplinary technology.

Design and Control of the Magnetically Actuated Micro/Nanorobot Swarm toward Biomedical Applications

Recently, magnetically actuated micro/nanorobots hold extensive promises in biomedical applications due to their advantages of noninvasiveness, fuel-free operation, and programmable nature. While effectively promised in various fields such as targeted delivery, most past investigations are mainly displayed in magnetic control of individual micro/nanorobots. Facing practical medical use, the micro/nanorobots are required for the development of swarm control in a closed-loop control manner. This review outlines the recent developments in magnetic micro/nanorobot swarms, including their actuating fundamentals, designs, controls, and biomedical applications. The fundamental principles and interactions involved in the formation of magnetic micro/nanorobot swarms are discussed first. The recent advances in the design of artificial and biohybrid micro/nanorobot swarms, along with the control devices and methods used for swarm manipulation, are presented. Furthermore, biomedical applications that have the potential to achieve clinical application are introduced, such as imaging-guided therapy, targeted delivery, embolization, and biofilm eradication. By addressing the potential challenges discussed toward the end of this review, magnetic micro/nanorobot swarms hold promise for clinical treatments in the future.

Magnetic propelled hydrogel microrobots for actively enhancing the efficiency of lycorine hydrochloride to suppress colorectal cancer

Research and development in the field of micro/nano-robots have made significant progress in the past, especially in the field of clinical medicine, where further research may lead to many revolutionary achievements. Through the research and experiment of microrobots, a controllable drug delivery system will be realized, which will solve many problems in drug treatment. In this work, we design and study the ability of magnetic-driven hydrogel microrobots to carry Lycorine hydrochloride (LH) to inhibit colorectal cancer (CRC) cells. We have successfully designed a magnetic field driven, biocompatible drug carrying hydrogel microsphere robot with Fe3O4 particles inside, which can achieve magnetic field response, and confirmed that it can transport drug through fluorescence microscope. We have successfully demonstrated the motion mode of hydrogel microrobots driven by a rotating external magnetic field. This driving method allows the microrobots to move in a precise and controllable manner, providing tremendous potential for their use in various applications. Finally, we selected drug LH and loaded it into the hydrogel microrobot for a series of experiments. LH significantly inhibited CRC cells proliferation in a dose- and time-dependent manner. LH inhibited the proliferation, mobility of CRC cells and induced apoptosis. This delivery system can significantly improve the therapeutic effect of drugs on tumors.

Magnetic soft microfiberbots for robotic embolization

Cerebral aneurysms and brain tumors are leading life-threatening diseases worldwide. By deliberately occluding the target lesion to reduce the blood supply, embolization has been widely used clinically to treat cerebral aneurysms and brain tumors. Conventional embolization is usually performed by threading a catheter through blood vessels to the target lesion, which is often limited by the poor steerability of the catheter in complex neurovascular networks, especially in submillimeter regions. Here, we propose magnetic soft microfiberbots with high steerability, reliable maneuverability, and multimodal shape reconfigurability to perform robotic embolization in submillimeter regions via a remote, untethered, and magnetically controllable manner. Magnetic soft microfiberbots were fabricated by thermal drawing magnetic soft composite into microfibers, followed by magnetizing and molding procedures to endow a helical magnetic polarity. By controlling magnetic fields, magnetic soft microfiberbots exhibit reversible elongated/aggregated shape morphing and helical propulsion in flow conditions, allowing for controllable navigation through complex vasculature and robotic embolization in submillimeter regions. We performed in vitro embolization of aneurysm and tumor in neurovascular phantoms and in vivo embolization of a rabbit femoral artery model under real-time fluoroscopy. These studies demonstrate the potential clinical value of our work, paving the way for a robotic embolization scheme in robotic settings.

Roadmap for Clinical Translation of Mobile Microrobotics

Medical microrobotics is an emerging field to revolutionize clinical applications in diagnostics and therapeutics of various diseases. On the other hand, the mobile microrobotics field has important obstacles to pass before clinical translation. This article focuses on these challenges and provides a roadmap of medical microrobots to enable their clinical use. From the concept of a "magic bullet" to the physicochemical interactions of microrobots in complex biological environments in medical applications, there are several translational steps to consider. Clinical translation of mobile microrobots is only possible with a close collaboration between clinical experts and microrobotics researchers to address the technical challenges in microfabrication, safety, and imaging. The clinical application potential can be materialized by designing microrobots that can solve the current main challenges, such as actuation limitations, material stability, and imaging constraints. The strengths and weaknesses of the current progress in the microrobotics field are discussed and a roadmap for their clinical applications in the near future is outlined.

Tracking and navigation of a microswarm under laser speckle contrast imaging for targeted delivery

Micro/nanorobotic swarms consisting of numerous tiny building blocks show great potential in biomedical applications because of their collective active delivery ability, enhanced imaging contrast, and environment-adaptive capability. However, in vivo real-time imaging and tracking of micro/nanorobotic swarms remain a challenge, considering the limited imaging size and spatial-temporal resolution of current imaging modalities. Here, we propose a strategy that enables real-time tracking and navigation of a microswarm in stagnant and flowing blood environments by using laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI), featuring full-field imaging, high temporal-spatial resolution, and noninvasiveness. The change in dynamic convection induced by the microswarm can be quantitatively investigated by analyzing the perfusion unit (PU) distribution, offering an alternative approach to investigate the swarm behavior and its interaction with various blood environments. Both the microswarm and surrounding environment were monitored and imaged by LSCI in real time, and the images were further analyzed for simultaneous swarm tracking and navigation in the complex vascular system. Moreover, our strategy realized real-time tracking and delivery of a microswarm in vivo, showing promising potential for LSCI-guided active delivery of microswarm in the vascular system.

Chiral active particles are sensitive reporters to environmental geometry

Chiral active particles (CAPs) are self-propelling particles that break time-reversal symmetry by orbiting or spinning, leading to intriguing behaviors. Here, we examined the dynamics of CAPs moving in 2D lattices of disk obstacles through active Brownian dynamics simulations and granular experiments with grass seeds. We find that the effective diffusivity of the CAPs is sensitive to the structure of the obstacle lattice, a feature absent in achiral active particles. We further studied the transport of CAPs in obstacle arrays under an external field and found a reentrant directional locking effect, which can be used to sort CAPs with different activities. Finally, we demonstrated that parallelogram lattices of obstacles without mirror symmetry can separate clockwise and counter-clockwise CAPs. The mechanisms of the above three novel phenomena are qualitatively explained. As such, our work provides a basis for designing chirality-based tools for single-cell diagnosis and separation, and active particle-based environmental sensors.

Human-scale navigation of magnetic microrobots in hepatic arteries

Using external actuation sources to navigate untethered drug-eluting microrobots in the bloodstream offers great promise in improving the selectivity of drug delivery, especially in oncology, but the current field forces are difficult to maintain with enough strength inside the human body (>70-centimeter-diameter range) to achieve this operation. Here, we present an algorithm to predict the optimal patient position with respect to gravity during endovascular microrobot navigation. Magnetic resonance navigation, using magnetic field gradients in clinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), is combined with the algorithm to improve the targeting efficiency of magnetic microrobots (MMRs). Using a dedicated microparticle injector, a high-precision MRI-compatible balloon inflation system, and a clinical MRI, MMRs were successfully steered into targeted lobes via the hepatic arteries of living pigs. The distribution ratio of the microrobots (roughly 2000 MMRs per pig) in the right liver lobe increased from 47.7 to 86.4% and increased in the left lobe from 52.2 to 84.1%. After passing through multiple vascular bifurcations, the number of MMRs reaching four different target liver lobes had a 1.7- to 2.6-fold increase in the navigation groups compared with the control group. Performing simulations on 19 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) demonstrated that the proposed technique can meet the need for hepatic embolization in patients with HCC. Our technology offers selectable direction for actuator-based navigation of microrobots at the human scale.

tPA-anchored nanorobots for in vivo arterial recanalization at submillimeter-scale segments

Micro/nanorobots provide a promising approach for intravascular therapy with high precision. However, blood vessel is a highly complex system, and performing interventional therapy in those submillimeter segments remains challenging. While micro/nanorobots can enter submillimeter segments, they may still comprise nonbiodegradable parts, posing a considerable challenge for post-use removal. Here, we developed a retrievable magnetic colloidal microswarm, composed of tPA-anchored Fe3O4@mSiO2 nanorobots (tPA-nbots), to archive tPA-mediated thrombolysis under balloon catheter-assisted magnetic actuation with x-ray fluoroscopy imaging system (CMAFIS). By deploying tPA-nbot transcatheter to the vicinity of the thrombus, the tPA-nbot microswarms were magnetically actuated to the blood clot at the submillimeter vessels with high precision. After thrombolysis, the tPA-nbots can be retrieved via the CMAFIS, as demonstrated in ex vivo organ of human placenta and in vivo carotid artery of rabbit. The proposed colloidal microswarm provides a promising robotic tool with high spatial precision for enhanced thrombolysis with low side effects.

Ultrasound robotics for precision therapy

In recent years, the application of microrobots in precision therapy has gained significant attention. The small size and maneuverability of these micromachines enable them to potentially access regions that are difficult to reach using traditional methods; thus, reducing off-target toxicities and maximizing treatment effectiveness. Specifically, acoustic actuation has emerged as a promising method to exert control. By harnessing the power of acoustic energy, these small machines potentially navigate the body, assemble at the desired sites, and deliver therapies with enhanced precision and effectiveness. Amidst the enthusiasm surrounding these miniature agents, their translation to clinical environments has proven difficult. The primary objectives of this review are threefold: firstly, to offer an overview of the fundamental acoustic principles employed in the field of microrobots; secondly, to assess their current applications in medical therapies, encompassing tissue targeting, drug delivery or even cell infiltration; and lastly, to delve into the continuous efforts aimed at integrating acoustic microrobots into in vivo applications.

Magnetoactive Millirobots with Ternary Phase Transition

Magnetoactive soft millirobots have made significant advances in programmable deformation, multimodal locomotion, and untethered manipulation in unreachable regions. However, the inherent limitations are manifested in the solid-phase millirobot as limited deformability and in the liquid-phase millirobot as low stiffness. Herein, we propose a ternary-state magnetoactive millirobot based on a phase transitional polymer embedded with magnetic nanoparticles. The millirobot can reversibly transit among the liquid, solid, and viscous-fluid phases through heating and cooling. The liquid-phase millirobot has elastic deformation and mobility for unimpeded navigation in a constrained space. The viscous-fluid phase millirobot shows irreversible deformation and large ductility. The solid-phase millirobot shows good shape stability and controllable locomotion. Moreover, the ternary-state magnetoactive millirobot can achieve prominent capabilities including stiffness change and shape reconfiguration through phase transition. The millirobot can perform potential functions of navigation in complex terrain, three-dimensional circuit connection, and simulated treatment in a stomach model. This magnetoactive millirobot may find new applications in flexible electronics and biomedicine.

3-D real-time ultrasound tracking of acoustically actuated swimming microdrone

Maneuverable microswimmers/microdrones that navigate in hard-to-reach spaces inside human bodies hold a great potential for various biomedical applications. Acoustically actuated microswimmers have already demonstrated feasibility. However, for eventual translation of this technology, a robust 3-D tracking strategy for the microswimmer is particularly required. This paper presents our lab-designed 3-D ultrasound tracking system for real-time tracking of an acoustically actuated 3-D swimming microdrone. The ultrasound tracking system utilizing two ultrasound probes, a step motor and a host controller, was built to track the 3-D arbitrary motion of the microdrone in real-time. The performance of tracking was evaluated in the benchtop experiments by comparing the reconstructed trajectories with synchronized camera recordings. The ultrasound tracking system showed high reliability, with an average error of less than 0.3 mm across six different trials when compared to camera tracking. The results demonstrated the capability of our lab-designed 3-D ultrasound tracking system in accurately tracking the undetermined motion of the acoustic actuated 3-D swimming microdrone in real-time. The developed tracking system holds promise as a potential approach for biomedical applications and could pave the way for future clinical translation of the microswimmer technology.

Steerable acoustically powered starfish-inspired microrobot

Soft polymeric microrobots that can be loaded with nanocargoes and driven via external field stimuli can provide innovative solutions in various fields, including precise microscale assembly, targeted therapeutics, microsurgery, and the capture and degradation of unwanted wastewater fragments. However, in aquatic environments, it remains challenging to operate with microrobotic devices due to the predominant viscous resistances and the robots' limited actuation and sensing capabilities attributed to their miniaturization. The miniature size prevents the incorporation of onboard batteries that can provide sufficient power for propulsion and navigation, necessitating a wireless power supply. Current research examines untethered microrobot manipulation using external magnetic, electric, thermodynamic, or acoustic field-guided technologies: all strategies capable of wireless energy transmission towards sensitive and hard-to-reach locations. Nonetheless, developing a manipulation strategy that harnesses simple-to-induce strong propulsive forces in a stable manner over extended periods of time remains a significant endeavor. This study presents the fabrication and manipulation of a microrobot consisting of a magnetized soft polymeric composite material that enables a combination of stable acoustic propulsion through starfish-inspired artificial cilia and magnetic field-guided navigation. The acousto-magnetic manipulation strategy leverages the unique benefits of each applied field in the viscous-dominated microscale, namely precise magnetic orientation and strong acoustic thrust.

Cell-Based Micro/Nano-Robots for Biomedical Applications: A Review

Micro/nano-robots are powerful tools for biomedical applications and are applied in disease diagnosis, tumor imaging, drug delivery, and targeted therapy. Among the various types of micro-robots, cell-based micro-robots exhibit unique properties because of their different cell sources. In combination with various actuation methods, particularly externally propelled methods, cell-based microrobots have enormous potential for biomedical applications. This review introduces recent progress and applications of cell-based micro/nano-robots. Different actuation methods for micro/nano-robots are summarized, and cell-based micro-robots with different cell templates are introduced. Furthermore, the review focuses on the combination of cell-based micro/nano-robots with precise control using different external fields. Potential challenges, further prospects, and clinical translations are also discussed.

Nano/Micromotors for Cancer Diagnosis and Therapy: Innovative Designs to Improve Biocompatibility

Nano/micromotors are artificial robots at the nano/microscale that are capable of transforming energy into mechanical movement. In cancer diagnosis or therapy, such "tiny robots" show great promise for targeted drug delivery, cell removal/killing, and even related biomarker sensing. Yet biocompatibility is still the most critical challenge that restricts such techniques from transitioning from the laboratory to clinical applications. In this review, we emphasize the biocompatibility aspect of nano/micromotors to show the great efforts made by researchers to promote their clinical application, mainly including non-toxic fuel propulsion (inorganic catalysts, enzyme, etc.), bio-hybrid designs, ultrasound propulsion, light-triggered propulsion, magnetic propulsion, dual propulsion, and, in particular, the cooperative swarm-based strategy for increasing therapeutic effects. Future challenges in translating nano/micromotors into real applications and the potential directions for increasing biocompatibility are also described.

Modularized microrobot with lock-and-detachable modules for targeted cell delivery in bile duct

The magnetic microrobots promise benefits in minimally invasive cell-based therapy. However, they generally suffer from an inevitable compromise between their magnetic responsiveness and biomedical functions. Herein, we report a modularized microrobot consisting of magnetic actuation (MA) and cell scaffold (CS) modules. The MA module with strong magnetism and pH-responsive deformability and the CS module with cell loading-release capabilities were fabricated by three-dimensional printing technique. Subsequently, assembly of modules was performed by designing a shaft-hole structure and customizing their relative dimensions, which enabled magnetic navigation in complex environments, while not deteriorating the cellular functionalities. On-demand disassembly at targeted lesion was then realized to facilitate CS module delivery and retrieval of the MA module. Furthermore, the feasibility of proposed system was validated in an in vivo rabbit bile duct. Therefore, this work presents a modular design-based strategy that enables uncompromised fabrication of multifunctional microrobots and stimulates their development for future cell-based therapy.

Recent advancements in Mg-based micromotors for biomedical and environmental applications

Synthetic micro/nanomotors have attracted considerable attention due to their promising potential in the field of biomedicine. Despite their great potential, major micromotors require chemical fuels or complex devices to generate external physical fields for propulsion. Therefore, for future practical medical and environmental applications, Mg-based micromotors that exhibit water-powered movement and thus eliminate the need for toxic fuels, and that display optimal biocompatibility and biodegradability, are attracting attention. In this review, we summarized the recent microarchitectural design of Mg-based micromotors for biomedical applications. We also highlight the mechanism for realizing their water-powered motility. Furthermore, recent biomedical and environmental applications of Mg-based micromotors are introduced. We envision that advanced Mg-based micromotors will have a profound impact in biomedicine.

Untethered Micro/Nanorobots for Remote Sensing: Toward Intelligent Platform

Untethered micro/nanorobots that can wirelessly control their motion and deformation state have gained enormous interest in remote sensing applications due to their unique motion characteristics in various media and diverse functionalities. Researchers are developing micro/nanorobots as innovative tools to improve sensing performance and miniaturize sensing systems, enabling in situ detection of substances that traditional sensing methods struggle to achieve. Over the past decade of development, significant research progress has been made in designing sensing strategies based on micro/nanorobots, employing various coordinated control and sensing approaches. This review summarizes the latest developments on micro/nanorobots for remote sensing applications by utilizing the self-generated signals of the robots, robot behavior, microrobotic manipulation, and robot-environment interactions. Providing recent studies and relevant applications in remote sensing, we also discuss the challenges and future perspectives facing micro/nanorobots-based intelligent sensing platforms to achieve sensing in complex environments, translating lab research achievements into widespread real applications.

Micro/nanorobots for remediation of water resources and aquatic life

Nowadays, global water scarcity is becoming a pressing issue, and the discharge of various pollutants leads to the biological pollution of water bodies, which further leads to the poisoning of living organisms. Consequently, traditional water treatment methods are proving inadequate in addressing the growing demands of various industries. As an effective and eco-friendly water treatment method, micro/nanorobots is making significant advancements. Based on researches conducted between 2019 and 2023 in the field of water pollution using micro/nanorobots, this paper comprehensively reviews the development of micro/nanorobots in water pollution control from multiple perspectives, including propulsion methods, decontamination mechanisms, experimental techniques, and water monitoring. Furthermore, this paper highlights current challenges and provides insights into the future development of the industry, providing guidance on biological water pollution control.

Light-stimulated micromotor swarms in an electric field with accurate spatial, temporal, and mode control

Swarming, a phenomenon widely present in nature, is a hallmark of nonequilibrium living systems that harness external energy into collective locomotion. The creation and study of manmade swarms may provide insights into their biological counterparts and shed light to the rules of life. Here, we propose an innovative mechanism for rationally creating multimodal swarms with unprecedented spatial, temporal, and mode control. The research is realized in a system made of optoelectric semiconductor nanorods that can rapidly morph into three distinct modes, i.e., network formation, collectively enhanced rotation, and droplet-like clustering, pattern, and switch in-between under light stimulation in an electric field. Theoretical analysis and semiquantitative modeling well explain the observation by understanding the competition between two countering effects: the electrostatic assembly for orderliness and electrospinning-induced disassembly for disorderliness. This work could inspire the rational creation of new classes of reconfigurable swarms for both fundamental research and emerging applications.

Magnetically Powered Immunogenic Macrophage Microrobots for Targeted Multimodal Cancer Therapy

Motile microrobots open a new realm for disease treatment. However, the concerns of possible immune elimination, targeted capability and limited therapeutic avenue of microrobots constrain its practical biomedical applications. Herein, a biogenic macrophage-based microrobot loaded with magnetic nanoparticles and bioengineered bacterial outer membrane vesicles (OMVs), capable of magnetic propulsion, tumor targeting, and multimodal cancer therapy is reported. Such cell robots preserve intrinsic properties of macrophages for tumor suppression and targeting, and bioengineered OMVs for antitumor immune regulation and fused anticancer peptides. Cell robots display efficient magnetic propulsion and directional migration in the confined space. In vivo tests show that cell robots can accumulate at the tumor site upon magnetic manipulation, coupling with tumor tropism of macrophages to greatly improve the efficacy of its multimodal therapy, including tumor inhibition of macrophages, immune stimulation, and antitumor peptides of OMVs. This technology offers an attractive avenue to design intelligent medical microrobots with remote manipulation and multifunctional therapy capabilities for practical precision treatment.

A programmable ferrofluidic droplet robot

Soft miniature robots have wide potential applications in lab-on-a-chip and biomedical sciences due to their deformability, safety, and remarkable controllability. However, current ferrofluidic droplet robots have some problems, such as easy broken, limited motion range and high energy consumption. Therefore, the objective of this study is to propose a programmable ferrofluidic flexible droplet robot (PFDR) with control strategies for elongation, splitting and merging behaviors by designing an actuation system consisting of a row of electromagnets and a robotic arm or a coordinate robot. The PFDR can not only deform actively to prevent itself from breaking, but also deform passively to fit the profile of channels or tubes to move efficiently. The actuation system can make PFDR have larger motion range as well as lower energy consumption. The design concept and the operating principle of PFDR are presented. The magnetic actuation system is developed. The lag of PFDR is analyzed in theoretical and experimental ways. The splitting and merging behaviors are investigated and other functionalities are studied as well.

Ultrasound trapping and navigation of microrobots in the mouse brain vasculature

The intricate and delicate anatomy of the brain poses significant challenges for the treatment of cerebrovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. Thus, precise local drug delivery in hard-to-reach brain regions remains an urgent medical need. Microrobots offer potential solutions; however, their functionality in the brain remains restricted by limited imaging capabilities and complications within blood vessels, such as high blood flows, osmotic pressures, and cellular responses. Here, we introduce ultrasound-activated microrobots for in vivo navigation in brain vasculature. Our microrobots consist of lipid-shelled microbubbles that autonomously aggregate and propel under ultrasound irradiation. We investigate their capacities in vitro within microfluidic-based vasculatures and in vivo within vessels of a living mouse brain. These microrobots self-assemble and execute upstream motion in brain vasculature, achieving velocities up to 1.5 µm/s and moving against blood flows of ~10 mm/s. This work represents a substantial advance towards the therapeutic application of microrobots within the complex brain vasculature.

Colloidal tubular microrobots for cargo transport and compression

Microrobot swarms have seen increased interest in recent years due to their potentials for in vivo delivery and imaging with cooperative propulsion modes and enhanced imaging signals. Yet most swarms developed so far are limited to dense particle aggregates, far simpler than complicated three-dimensional assemblies of anisotropic particles. Here, we show via assembly path design that complex hollow tubular structures can be assembled from simple isotropic colloidal spheres and those complicated, metastable, microtubes can be formed from simple, energetically favorable colloidal membranes. The assembled microtubes can remain intact and roll under a precessing magnetic field, with propulsion directions and velocities precisely controlled by field components. The hollow spaces inside enable these tubular microrobots to grab, transport, and release cargos on command. We also demonstrate unique compressing and uncompressing capabilities with our tubular microrobots, making them effective microtweezers. Our work shows that complicated microrobots can be transformed from simple assemblies, providing an insight on building micromachines.

Exact and Computationally Robust Solutions for Cylindrical Magnets Systems with Programmable Magnetization

Magnetic systems based on permanent magnets are receiving growing attention, in particular for micro/millirobotics and biomedical applications. Their design landscape is expanded by the possibility to program magnetization, yet enabling analytical results, crucial for containing computational costs, are lacking. The dipole approximation is systematically used (and often strained), because exact and computationally robust solutions are to be unveiled even for common geometries such as cylindrical magnets, which are ubiquitously used in fundamental research and applications. In this study, exact solutions are disclosed for magnetic field and gradient of a cylindrical magnet with generic uniform magnetization, which can be robustly computed everywhere within and outside the magnet, and directly extend to magnets systems of arbitrary complexity. Based on them, exact and computationally robust solutions are unveiled for force and torque between coaxial magnets. The obtained analytical solutions overstep the dipole approximation, thus filling a long-standing gap, and offer strong computational gains versus numerical simulations (up to 106 , for the considered test-cases). Moreover, they bridge to a variety of applications, as illustrated through a compact magnets array that could be used to advance state-of-the-art biomedical tools, by creating, based on programmable magnetization patterns, circumferential and helical force traps for magnetoresponsive diagnostic/therapeutic agents.

Micro-/nanoscale robotics for chemical and biological sensing

The field of micro-/nanorobotics has attracted extensive interest from a variety of research communities and witnessed enormous progress in a broad array of applications ranging from basic research to global healthcare and to environmental remediation and protection. In particular, micro-/nanoscale robots provide an enabling platform for the development of next-generation chemical and biological sensing modalities, owing to their unique advantages as programmable, self-sustainable, and/or autonomous mobile carriers to accommodate and promote physical and chemical processes. In this review, we intend to provide an overview of the state-of-the-art development in this area and share our perspective in the future trend. This review starts with a general introduction of micro-/nanorobotics and the commonly used methods for propulsion of micro-/nanorobots in solution, along with the commonly used methods in their fabrication. Next, we comprehensively summarize the current status of the micro/nanorobotic research in relevance to chemical and biological sensing (e.g., motion-based sensing, optical sensing, and electrochemical sensing). Following that, we provide an overview of the primary challenges currently faced in the micro-/nanorobotic research. Finally, we conclude this review by providing our perspective detailing the future application of soft robotics in chemical and biological sensing.

Microrobots for Biomedicine: Unsolved Challenges and Opportunities for Translation

Microrobots are being explored for biomedical applications, such as drug delivery, biological cargo transport, and minimally invasive surgery. However, current efforts largely focus on proof-of-concept studies with nontranslatable materials through a "design-and-apply" approach, limiting the potential for clinical adaptation. While these proof-of-concept studies have been key to advancing microrobot technologies, we believe that the distinguishing capabilities of microrobots will be most readily brought to patient bedsides through a "design-by-problem" approach, which involves focusing on unsolved problems to inform the design of microrobots with practical capabilities. As outlined below, we propose that the clinical translation of microrobots will be accelerated by a judicious choice of target applications, improved delivery considerations, and the rational selection of translation-ready biomaterials, ultimately reducing patient burden and enhancing the efficacy of therapeutic drugs for difficult-to-treat diseases.

Optoelectronic Trajectory Reconfiguration and Directed Self-Assembly of Self-Propelling Electrically Powered Active Particles

Self-propelling active particles are an exciting and interdisciplinary emerging area of research with projected biomedical and environmental applications. Due to their autonomous motion, control over these active particles that are free to travel along individual trajectories, is challenging. This work uses optically patterned electrodes on a photoconductive substrate using a digital micromirror device (DMD) to dynamically control the region of movement of self-propelling particles (i.e., metallo-dielectric Janus particles (JPs)). This extends previous studies where only a passive micromotor is optoelectronically manipulated with a translocating optical pattern that illuminates the particle. In contrast, the current system uses the optically patterned electrode merely to define the region within which the JPs moved autonomously. Interestingly, the JPs avoid crossing the optical region's edge, which enables constraint of the area of motion and to dynamically shape the JP trajectory. Using the DMD system to simultaneously manipulate several JPs enables to self-assemble the JPs into stable active structures (JPs ring) with precise control over the number of participating JPs and passive particles. Since the optoelectronic system is amenable to closed-loop operation using real-time image analysis, it enables exploitation of these active particles as active microrobots that can be operated in a programmable and parallelized manner.

Robotic Interventional Neuroradiology: Progress, Challenges, and Future Prospects

Advances in robotic technology have improved standard techniques in numerous surgical and endovascular specialties, offering more precision, control, and better patient outcomes. Robotic-assisted interventional neuroradiology is an emerging field at the intersection of interventional neuroradiology and biomedical robotics. Endovascular robotics can automate maneuvers to reduce procedure times and increase its safety, reduce occupational hazards associated with ionizing radiations, and expand networks of care to reduce gaps in geographic access to neurointerventions. To date, many robotic neurointerventional procedures have been successfully performed, including cerebral angiography, intracranial aneurysm embolization, carotid stenting, and epistaxis embolization. This review aims to provide a survey of the state of the art in robotic-assisted interventional neuroradiology, consider their technical and adoption limitations, and explore future developments critical for the widespread adoption of robotic-assisted neurointerventions.

Swarming Responsive Photonic Nanorobots for Motile-Targeting Microenvironmental Mapping and Mapping-Guided Photothermal Treatment

Micro/nanorobots can propel and navigate in many hard-to-reach biological environments, and thus may bring revolutionary changes to biomedical research and applications. However, current MNRs lack the capability to collectively perceive and report physicochemical changes in unknown microenvironments. Here we propose to develop swarming responsive photonic nanorobots that can map local physicochemical conditions on the fly and further guide localized photothermal treatment. The RPNRs consist of a photonic nanochain of periodically-assembled magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles encapsulated in a responsive hydrogel shell, and show multiple integrated functions, including energetic magnetically-driven swarming motions, bright stimuli-responsive structural colors, and photothermal conversion. Thus, they can actively navigate in complex environments utilizing their controllable swarming motions, then visualize unknown targets (e.g., tumor lesion) by collectively mapping out local abnormal physicochemical conditions (e.g., pH, temperature, or glucose concentration) via their responsive structural colors, and further guide external light irradiation to initiate localized photothermal treatment. This work facilitates the development of intelligent motile nanosensors and versatile multifunctional nanotheranostics for cancer and inflammatory diseases.

Active Micro/Nanoparticles in Colloidal Microswarms

Colloidal microswarms have attracted increasing attention in the last decade due to their unique capabilities in various complex tasks. Thousands or even millions of tiny active agents are gathered with distinctive features and emerging behaviors, demonstrating fascinating equilibrium and non-equilibrium collective states. In recent studies, with the development of materials design, remote control strategies, and the understanding of pair interactions between building blocks, microswarms have shown advantages in manipulation and targeted delivery tasks with high adaptability and on-demand pattern transformation. This review focuses on the recent progress in active micro/nanoparticles (MNPs) in colloidal microswarms under the input of an external field, including the response of MNPs to external fields, MNP-MNP interactions, and MNP-environment interactions. A fundamental understanding of how building blocks behave in a collective system provides the foundation for designing microswarm systems with autonomy and intelligence, aiming for practical application in diverse environments. It is envisioned that colloidal microswarms will significantly impact active delivery and manipulation applications on small scales.

Generation of magnetic biohybrid microrobots based on MSC.sTRAIL for targeted stem cell delivery and treatment of cancer

Background

Combining the power of magnetic guidance and the biological activities of stem cells transformed into biohybrid microrobots holds great promise for the treatment of several diseases including cancer.

Results

We found that human MSCs can be readily loaded with magnetic particles and that the resulting biohybrid microrobots could be guided by a rotating magnetic field. Rotating magnetic fields have the potential to be applied in the human setting and steer therapeutic stem cells to the desired sites of action in the body. We could demonstrate that the required loading of magnetic particles into stem cells is compatible with their biological activities. We examined this issue with a particular focus on the expression and functionality of therapeutic genes inside of human MSC-based biohybrid microrobots. The loading with magnetic particles did not cause a loss of viability or apoptosis in the human MSCs nor did it impact on the therapeutic gene expression from the cells. Furthermore, the therapeutic effect of the gene products was not affected, and the cells also did not lose their migration potential.

Conclusion

These results demonstrate that the fabrication of guidable MSC-based biohybrid microrobots is compatible with their biological and therapeutic functions. Thus, MSC-based biohybrid microrobots represent a novel way of delivering gene therapies to tumours as well as in the context of other diseases.

Swarming self-adhesive microgels enabled aneurysm on-demand embolization in physiological blood flow

The recent rise of swarming microrobotics offers great promise in the revolution of minimally invasive embolization procedure for treating aneurysm. However, targeted embolization treatment of aneurysm using microrobots has significant challenges in the delivery capability and filling controllability. Here, we develop an interventional catheterization-integrated swarming microrobotic platform for aneurysm on-demand embolization in physiological blood flow. A pH-responsive self-healing hydrogel doped with magnetic and imaging agents is developed as the embolic microgels, which enables long-term self-adhesion under biological condition in a controllable manner. The embolization strategy is initiated by catheter-assisted deployment of swarming microgels, followed by the application of external magnetic field for targeted aggregation of microrobots into aneurysm sac under the real-time guidance of ultrasound and fluoroscopy imaging. Mild acidic stimulus is applied to trigger the welding of microgels with satisfactory bio-/hemocompatibility and physical stability and realize complete embolization. Our work presents a promising connection between the design and control of microrobotic swarms toward practical applications in dynamic environments.

Bioinspired claw-engaged and biolubricated swimming microrobots creating active retention in blood vessels

Swimming microrobots guided in the circulation system offer considerable promise in precision medicine but currently suffer from problems such as limited adhesion to blood vessels, intensive blood flow, and immune system clearance-all reducing the targeted interaction. A swimming microrobot design with clawed geometry, a red blood cell (RBC) membrane-camouflaged surface, and magnetically actuated retention is discussed, allowing better navigation and inspired by the tardigrade's mechanical claw engagement, coupled to an RBC membrane coating, to minimize blood flow impact. Using clinical intravascular optical coherence tomography in vivo, the microrobots' activity and dynamics in a rabbit jugular vein was monitored, illustrating very effective magnetic propulsion, even against a flow of ~2.1 cm/s, comparable with rabbit blood flow characteristics. The equivalent friction coefficient with magnetically actuated retention is elevated ~24-fold, compared to magnetic microspheres, achieving active retention at 3.2 cm/s, for >36 hours, showing considerable promise across biomedical applications.

Small-Scale Robotics with Tailored Wettability

Small-scale robots (SSRs) have emerged as promising and versatile tools in various biomedical, sensing, decontamination, and manipulation applications, as they are uniquely capable of performing tasks at small length scales. With the miniaturization of robots from the macroscale to millimeter-, micrometer-, and nanometer-scales, the viscous and surface forces, namely adhesive forces and surface tension have become dominant. These forces significantly impact motion efficiency. Surface engineering of robots with both hydrophilic and hydrophobic functionalization presents a brand-new pathway to overcome motion resistance and enhance the ability to target and regulate robots for various tasks. This review focuses on the current progress and future perspectives of SSRs with hydrophilic and hydrophobic modifications (including both tethered and untethered robots). The study emphasizes the distinct advantages of SSRs, such as improved maneuverability and reduced drag forces, and outlines their potential applications. With continued innovation, rational surface engineering is expected to endow SSRs with exceptional mobility and functionality, which can broaden their applications, enhance their penetration depth, reduce surface fouling, and inhibit bacterial adhesion.

In vivo applications of micro/nanorobots

Untethered robots in the size range of micro/nano-scale offer unprecedented access to hard-to-reach areas of the body. In these challenging environments, autonomous task completion capabilities of micro/nanorobots have been the subject of research in recent years. However, most of the studies have presented preliminary in vitro results that can significantly differ under in vivo settings. Here, we focus on the studies conducted with animal models to reveal the current status of micro/nanorobotic applications in real-world conditions. By a categorization based on target locations, we highlight the main strategies employed in organs and other body parts. We also discuss key challenges that require interest before the successful translation of micro/nanorobots to the clinic.

Accelerating the Design of Self-Guided Microrobots in Time-Varying Magnetic Fields

Mobile robots combine sensory information with mechanical actuation to move autonomously through structured environments and perform specific tasks. The miniaturization of such robots to the size of living cells is actively pursued for applications in biomedicine, materials science, and environmental sustainability. Existing microrobots based on field-driven particles rely on knowledge of the particle position and the target destination to control particle motion through fluid environments. Often, however, these external control strategies are challenged by limited information and global actuation where a common field directs multiple robots with unknown positions. In this Perspective, we discuss how time-varying magnetic fields can be used to encode the self-guided behaviors of magnetic particles conditioned on local environmental cues. Programming these behaviors is framed as a design problem: we seek to identify the design variables (e.g., particle shape, magnetization, elasticity, stimuli-response) that achieve the desired performance in a given environment. We discuss strategies for accelerating the design process using automated experiments, computational models, statistical inference, and machine learning approaches. Based on the current understanding of field-driven particle dynamics and existing capabilities for particle fabrication and actuation, we argue that self-guided microrobots with potentially transformative capabilities are close at hand.

In-Tumor Biosynthetic Construction of Upconversion Nanomachines for Precise Near-Infrared Phototherapy

Targeted construction of therapeutic nanoplatforms in tumor cells with specific activation remains appealing but challenging. Here, we design a cancer-motivated upconversion nanomachine (UCNM) based on porous upconversion nanoparticles (p-UCNPs) for precise phototherapy. The nanosystem is equipped with a telomerase substrate (TS) primer and simultaneously encapsulates 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) and d-arginine (d-Arg). After coating with hyaluronic acid (HA), it can readily get into tumor cells, where 5-ALA induces efficient accumulation of protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) via the inherent biosynthetic pathway, and the overexpressed telomerase prolonged the TS to form G-quadruplexes (G4) for binding the resulting PpIX as a nanomachine. This nanomachine can respond to near-infrared (NIR) light and promote the active singlet oxygen (¹O₂) production due to the efficiency of Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) between p-UCNPs and PpIX. Intriguingly, such oxidative stress can oxidize d-Arg into nitric oxide (NO), which relieves the tumor hypoxia and in turn improves the phototherapy effect. This in situ assembly approach significantly enhances targeting in cancer therapy and might be of considerable clinical value.

A review on microrobots driven by optical and magnetic fields

Due to their small sizes, microrobots are advantageous for accessing hard-to-reach spaces for delivery and measurement. However, their small sizes also bring challenges in on-board powering, thus usually requiring actuation by external energy. Microrobots actuated by external energy have been applied to the fields of physics, biology, medical science, and engineering. Among these actuation sources, light and magnetic fields show advantages in high precision and high biocompatibility. This paper reviews the recent advances in the design, actuation, and applications of microrobots driven by light and magnetic fields. For light-driven microrobots, we summarized the uses of optical tweezers, optoelectronic tweezers, and heat-mediated optical manipulation techniques. For magnetically driven microrobots, we summarized the uses of torque-driven microrobots, force-driven microrobots, and shape-deformable microrobots. Then, we compared the two types of field-driven microrobots and reviewed their advantages and disadvantages. The paper concludes with an outlook for the joint use of optical and magnetic field actuation in microrobots.

Application of Nanotechnology in Thrombus Therapy

A thrombus is a blood clot that forms in the lumen of an artery or vein, restricting blood flow and causing clinical symptoms. Thrombosis is associated with many life-threatening cardiovascular diseases. However, current clinical therapeutic technologies still have many problems in targeting, enrichment, penetration, and safety to meet the thrombosis treatment needs. Therefore, researchers devote themselves to developing nanosystems loaded with antithrombotic drugs to address this paradox in recent years. Herein, the existing thrombosis treatment technologies are first reviewed; and then, their advantages and disadvantages are outlined based on a brief discussion of thrombosis's definition and formation mechanism. Furthermore, the need and application cases for introducing nanotechnology are discussed, focusing on thrombus-specific targeted ligand modification technology and microenvironment-triggered responsive drug release technology. Then, nanomaterials that can be used to design antithrombotic nanotherapeutic systems are summarized. Moreover, a variety of drug delivery technologies driven by nanomotors in thrombosis therapy is also introduced. Last of all, a prospective discussion on the future development of nanotechnology for thrombosis therapy is highlighted.