Magnetically Aligned Nanorods in Alginate Capsules (MANiACs): Soft Matter Tumbling Robots for Manipulation and Drug Delivery

Lamar O. Mair; Sagar Chowdhury; Genaro A. Paredes-Juarez; Maria Guix; Chenghao Bi; Benjamin Johnson; Bradley W. English; Sahar Jafari; James Baker-McKee; Jamelle Watson-Daniels; Olivia Hale; Pavel Stepanov; Danica Sun; Zachary Baker; Chad Ropp; Shailesh B. Raval; Dian R. Arifin; Jeff W.M. Bulte; Irving N. Weinberg; Benjamin A. Evans; David J. Cappelleri

doi:10.3390/mi10040230

Micromachines (Mar 2019)

Magnetically Aligned Nanorods in Alginate Capsules (MANiACs): Soft Matter Tumbling Robots for Manipulation and Drug Delivery

Lamar O. Mair,
Sagar Chowdhury,
Genaro A. Paredes-Juarez,
Maria Guix,
Chenghao Bi,
Benjamin Johnson,
Bradley W. English,
Sahar Jafari,
James Baker-McKee,
Jamelle Watson-Daniels,
Olivia Hale,
Pavel Stepanov,
Danica Sun,
Zachary Baker,
Chad Ropp,
Shailesh B. Raval,
Dian R. Arifin,
Jeff W.M. Bulte,
Irving N. Weinberg,
Benjamin A. Evans,
David J. Cappelleri

Affiliations

Lamar O. Mair: Weinberg Medical Physics, Inc., North Bethesda, MD 20852, USA
Sagar Chowdhury: Weinberg Medical Physics, Inc., North Bethesda, MD 20852, USA
Genaro A. Paredes-Juarez: Russel H. Morgan Department of Radiology, Division of Magnetic Resonance Research, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
Maria Guix: Multi-Scale Robotics and Automation Lab, School of Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
Chenghao Bi: Multi-Scale Robotics and Automation Lab, School of Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
Benjamin Johnson: Multi-Scale Robotics and Automation Lab, School of Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
Bradley W. English: Weinberg Medical Physics, Inc., North Bethesda, MD 20852, USA
Sahar Jafari: Weinberg Medical Physics, Inc., North Bethesda, MD 20852, USA
James Baker-McKee: Weinberg Medical Physics, Inc., North Bethesda, MD 20852, USA
Jamelle Watson-Daniels: Weinberg Medical Physics, Inc., North Bethesda, MD 20852, USA
Olivia Hale: Weinberg Medical Physics, Inc., North Bethesda, MD 20852, USA
Pavel Stepanov: Weinberg Medical Physics, Inc., North Bethesda, MD 20852, USA
Danica Sun: Weinberg Medical Physics, Inc., North Bethesda, MD 20852, USA
Zachary Baker: Weinberg Medical Physics, Inc., North Bethesda, MD 20852, USA
Chad Ropp: Weinberg Medical Physics, Inc., North Bethesda, MD 20852, USA
Shailesh B. Raval: Weinberg Medical Physics, Inc., North Bethesda, MD 20852, USA
Dian R. Arifin: Russel H. Morgan Department of Radiology, Division of Magnetic Resonance Research, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
Jeff W.M. Bulte: Russel H. Morgan Department of Radiology, Division of Magnetic Resonance Research, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
Irving N. Weinberg: Weinberg Medical Physics, Inc., North Bethesda, MD 20852, USA
Benjamin A. Evans: Department of Physics, Elon University, Elon, NC 27244, USA
David J. Cappelleri: Multi-Scale Robotics and Automation Lab, School of Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/mi10040230
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 10, no. 4
p. 230

Abstract

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Soft, untethered microrobots composed of biocompatible materials for completing micromanipulation and drug delivery tasks in lab-on-a-chip and medical scenarios are currently being developed. Alginate holds significant potential in medical microrobotics due to its biocompatibility, biodegradability, and drug encapsulation capabilities. Here, we describe the synthesis of MANiACs—Magnetically Aligned Nanorods in Alginate Capsules—for use as untethered microrobotic surface tumblers, demonstrating magnetically guided lateral tumbling via rotating magnetic fields. MANiAC translation is demonstrated on tissue surfaces as well as inclined slopes. These alginate microrobots are capable of manipulating objects over millimeter-scale distances. Finally, we demonstrate payload release capabilities of MANiACs during translational tumbling motion.

Published in Micromachines

ISSN: 2072-666X (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Technology: Mechanical engineering and machinery
Website: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/micromachines

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