MICRO-ROBOTS PLANT CANCER MEDS IN TUMORS
TINY fish-shaped robots — loaded with potent chemotherapy drugs — may soon be used to deliver cancer-killing medication directly to life-threatening tumors and potentially reduce the treatment’s troublesome side effects, experts say.
The shape-shifting robots, which are one-hundredth of a millimeter in size, were developed by scientists in China, led by researchers Jiawen Li, Li Zhang and Dong Wu.
The so-called fish were created in a 4D-printing process that uses a specialized pH-responsive hydrogel.
The creators claim once the bots are bathed in a solution of iron oxide microparticles — which causes them to become magnetic — and loaded up with chemo drugs, they can be steered to tumors by using magnets.
The scientists say the pH levels of fluids surrounding cancer cells causes the fishes’ “mouths” to open and release the drugs directly to the tumor.
Current chemotherapy treatments are administered either as pills or intravenous medication, which circulate throughout the entire body. But this method also means healthy tissues are exposed to the drugs, which are especially harmful to rapidly replicating cells — such as those in the mouth, hair and nails — and can cause patients to develop mouth sores, go bald and lose fingernails and toenails.
Though the chemo-delivering fish have only been tested in lab-based petri dish experiments, the research team is hopeful about their future real-life application and believe this drug delivery method may spare patients from some of chemo’s collateral damage.
However, the scientists admit for the fishes to be of use in humans, the man-made creations would need to be even smaller!