Nanorobotics in Medicine: A Systematic Review of Advances, Challenges, and Future Prospects with a Focus on Cell Therapy, Invasive Surgery, and Drug Delivery

Abstract

Nanorobotics offers an emerging frontier in biomedicine, potentially revolutionizing diagnostic and therapeutic applications through its unique capabilities in manipulating biological systems at the nanoscale. Following PRISMA guidelines, a comprehensive literature search was conducted using IEEE Xplore and PubMed databases, identifying and analyzing 414 papers. The studies were filtered to include only those that addressed nanorobotics and direct medical applications. Our analysis traces the technology’s evolution, highlighting its growing prominence in medicine as evidenced by the increasing number of publications. Applications ranged from targeted drug delivery and single-cell manipulation to minimally invasive surgery and biosensing. Despite the promise, limitations such as biocompatibility, precise control, and ethical concerns were also identified. This review aims to offer a thorough overview of nanorobotics in medicine, specifi-cally on niches such as laparoscopic surgery, drug delivery, and cell manipulation, drawing at-tention to current challenges and opportunities and providing directions for future research in this rapidly advancing field.