According to BGR, scientists have successfully used microrobots to treat pneumonia in mice. The development is detailed in research published in the journal Nature Materials. In the study, researchers say "bio-inspired microrobots" can move around the body and deal with different microorganisms linked to certain diseases.
The technology is still in the proof-of-concept stage. However, early signs of microrobots curing pneumonia are very promising, researchers say. So researchers will want to dig deeper into it in the future, find new ways to make it more effective, and even test its effectiveness in human patients at some point.
Microrobots that help cure pneumonia in mice are made from algae cells. The researchers then coated them with a layer of antibiotic nanoparticles, Science Alert reported. The nanoparticles used by the researchers are created from tiny polymer spheres. They then coated the particles with a type of white blood cell called neutrophils.
This coating makes it easier for the body to accept. Cell membranes also degrade naturally, meaning the robots don't have to be removed from the body, allowed to do their work, and then fade away when their work is done.
This helps reduce potentially harmful inflammation and allows for improved ways to fight infection, delivering treatments directly where they are needed. Additionally, the researchers found that these tiny robots proved more effective at curing pneumonia than intravenous injections. As a result, these robots could open new doors in how we treat disease.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen robots being used to treat disease, either. Scientists have floated the idea of robotic fish that can move freely within the body, and other robots are designed to deliver drugs directly to problem areas of disease. It will be interesting to see whether these tiny robots could prove effective in other spaces as well.
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