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Microrobotic systems are promising tools for delivering drugs directly to tumor sites. However, most current microrobots rely only on physical targeting—they can reach a tumor area and release their drugs, but cannot distinguish between cancer and healthy cells. As a result, the released drugs may also damage nearby healthy tissue, limiting the precision and safety of these systems.
In this study, we address this limitation by developing genetically engineered, living human cell-based microrobots that can be magnetically guided to tumor regions and release a tumor-targeting protein, enabling selective killing of various cancer cell types without damaging healthy tissues.
These microrobots are built from living human kidney cells and also human fibroblasts that are genetically engineered to produce:
The engineered human cells are then attached to magnetic particles—tiny silica beads partially coated with a thin magnetic FePt layer. This design allows the microrobots to be remotely guided using magnetic fields.
After this fabrication process, the human cell-based microrobots can be magnetically controlled and directed toward target locations, where they release TRAIL as a therapeutic agent. Under external magnetic fields, they can be precisely guided to tumor sites, where they accumulate and act locally.
The key advantage of this system lies in its use of the TRAIL protein.
The living cell-based microrobots continuously produce and release TRAIL, which binds to specific receptors (called DR4 and DR5) on nearby cells. This interaction activates a programmed cell death process known as apoptosis.
• Cancer cells have high levels of these receptors → therefore, highly sensitive to TRAIL.
• Healthy cells have low levels → therefore, mostly unaffected.
Because of this difference, the microrobots can selectively eliminate cancer cells while leaving healthy tissues unharmed, which is a major improvement over many conventional therapies and existing microrobotic systems.
This work represents an important step in microrobotics for future medical devices:
In short, these microrobots do not just reach the tumor—they act intelligently once they get there.
This technology brings us closer to future treatments that can be highly precise, minimally invasive, and safer for patients. While further studies are needed before clinical application, this work highlights the strong potential of combining physical and biological intelligence into a single therapeutic platform. Overall, it represents an important advancement at the intersection of engineering, biology, and medicine.