Nature Communications (Sep 2023)

Ultrasound trapping and navigation of microrobots in the mouse brain vasculature

  • Alexia Del Campo Fonseca,
  • Chaim Glück,
  • Jeanne Droux,
  • Yann Ferry,
  • Carole Frei,
  • Susanne Wegener,
  • Bruno Weber,
  • Mohamad El Amki,
  • Daniel Ahmed

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-41557-3
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14, no. 1
pp. 1 – 14

Abstract

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Abstract 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.