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Micromachines
Special Issues
Micro/Nanorobotics
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Micro/Nanorobotics

A special issue of Micromachines (ISSN 2072-666X). This special issue belongs to the section "E：Engineering and Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2022) | Viewed by 13443

Special Issue Editors

Dr. U Kei Cheang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
Interests: microrobotics; nanorobotics; micro- and nanofabrication; micromanipulation; microfluidics; magnetic control; targeted drug delivery
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Yajing Shen

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor
Department of Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China​
Interests: robotics; micro-nano manipulation; cell assembly; DNA origami; nano characterization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Micro- and nanorobots have enormous potential to bring about new perspectives to how we approach a wide variety of tasks, including those in industrial, biomedical, and clinical settings. This is because micro- and nanorobots can access small spaces to perform tasks with micro/nanoscale precision where technologies of the macroscale counterpart would be incapable of performing. With decades of insights into low Reynolds number hydrodynamics, control techniques, and advancements in micro- and nanofabrication methods, micro- and nanorobotic technologies have undergone rapid development in the past decade. This attracted researchers from many disciplines of science and engineering; evidently, multidisciplinary efforts brought about numerous breakthroughs that demonstrated the possibility to use micro/nanorobots in applications from an extraordinarily wide range of fields, such as targeted delivery, regenerative medicine, gene therapy, water purification, reproduction, and more. However, despite all of the accomplishments, numerous challenges remained unsolved. Hence, in the spirit of sharing ideas and fostering innovation, we sincerely invite you to contribute your research papers, and/or review articles for this special issue with a focus on (1) novel methodologies in the fabrication, actuation, control, and application of micro- and nanorobots, (2) new types of micro- and nanomachines with externally actuated mechanical mechanisms, and (3) innovative micro- and nanotechnologies in related fields.

We look forward to receiving your submissions to the special issue!

Sincerely,

Prof. U Kei Cheang
Dr. Yajing Shen
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Micromachines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Micro- and nanorobots
  • Micro- and nanomotors
  • Micro- and nanomachines
  • Microtools
  • Micro- and nanofabrication
  • Micromanipulation
  • Biomedical applications

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 2535 KiB  
Article
Stop-Flow Lithography for the Continuous Production of Degradable Hydrogel Achiral Crescent Microswimmers
by Junfeng Xiong, Xiaoxia Song, Yuhang Cai, Jiahe Liu, Yangyuan Li, Yaqiang Ji, Liang Guo and U Kei Cheang
Micromachines 2022, 13(5), 798; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi13050798 - 20 May 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2721
Abstract
The small size of robotic microswimmers makes them suitable for performing biomedical tasks in tiny, enclosed spaces. Considering the effects of potentially long-term retention of microswimmers in biological tissues and the environment, the degradability of microswimmers has become one of the pressing issues [...] Read more.
The small size of robotic microswimmers makes them suitable for performing biomedical tasks in tiny, enclosed spaces. Considering the effects of potentially long-term retention of microswimmers in biological tissues and the environment, the degradability of microswimmers has become one of the pressing issues in this field. While degradable hydrogel was successfully used to prepare microswimmers in previous reports, most hydrogel microswimmers could only be fabricated using two-photon polymerization (TPP) due to their 3D structures, resulting in costly robotic microswimmers solution. This limits the potential of hydrogel microswimmers to be used in applications where a large number of microswimmers are needed. Here, we proposed a new type of preparation method for degradable hydrogel achiral crescent microswimmers using a custom-built stop-flow lithography (SFL) setup. The degradability of the hydrogel crescent microswimmers was quantitatively analyzed, and the degradation rate in sodium hydroxide solution (NaOH) of different concentrations was investigated. Cytotoxicity assays showed the hydrogel crescent microswimmers had good biocompatibility. The hydrogel crescent microswimmers were magnetically actuated using a 3D Helmholtz coil system and were able to obtain a swimming efficiency on par with previously reported microswimmers. The results herein demonstrated the potential for the degradable hydrogel achiral microswimmers to become a candidate for microscale applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Micro/Nanorobotics)
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8 pages, 2365 KiB  
Article
Programmed Shape-Morphing Material Using Single-Layer 4D Printing System
by Seonjin Lee, Doyeon Bang, Jong-Oh Park and Eunpyo Choi
Micromachines 2022, 13(2), 243; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi13020243 - 31 Jan 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2848
Abstract
The single-layer 4D printing technology that can be controllable in response to external stimuli is a tremendous challenge in many areas, including smart materials, robotics, and drug delivery systems. The single-layer 4D printing technique was enabled by light-focusing, which results in the difference [...] Read more.
The single-layer 4D printing technology that can be controllable in response to external stimuli is a tremendous challenge in many areas, including smart materials, robotics, and drug delivery systems. The single-layer 4D printing technique was enabled by light-focusing, which results in the difference of mechanical properties such as the coefficient of thermal expansion or Young’s modulus between focused and unfocused regions. However, 4D printing to the desired shape using single-layered material is challenging. In this paper, we demonstrate the programmed shape morphing by patterning both the static and shape-morphing layers using a single-layer 4D printing system. A shape-morphing layer is formulated by short-time (<3 s) illumination in UV light. Then a static layer is formulated by longer-time (>3 s) illumination in UV light. We expect this technique to lead to the development of micro-scale soft robots. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Micro/Nanorobotics)
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15 pages, 5290 KiB  
Article
Optimization of Field-Free Point Position, Gradient Field and Ferromagnetic Polymer Ratio for Enhanced Navigation of Magnetically Controlled Polymer-Based Microrobots in Blood Vessel
by Saqib Sharif, Kim Tien Nguyen, Doyeon Bang, Jong-Oh Park and Eunpyo Choi
Micromachines 2021, 12(4), 424; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi12040424 - 13 Apr 2021
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3278
Abstract
Microscale and nanoscale robots, frequently referred to as future cargo systems for targeted drug delivery, can effectively convert magnetic energy into locomotion. However, navigating and imaging them within a complex colloidal vascular system at a clinical scale is exigent. Hence, a more precise [...] Read more.
Microscale and nanoscale robots, frequently referred to as future cargo systems for targeted drug delivery, can effectively convert magnetic energy into locomotion. However, navigating and imaging them within a complex colloidal vascular system at a clinical scale is exigent. Hence, a more precise and enhanced hybrid control navigation and imaging system is necessary. Magnetic particle imaging (MPI) has been successfully applied to visualize the ensemble of superparamagnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) with high temporal sensitivity. MPI uses the concept of field-free point (FFP) mechanism in the principal magnetic field. The gradient magnetic field (|∇B|) of MPI scanners can generate sufficient magnetic force in MNPs; hence, it has been recently used to navigate nanosized particles and micron-sized swimmers. In this article, we present a simulation analysis of the optimized navigation of an ensemble of microsized polymer MNP-based drug carriers in blood vessels. Initially, an ideal two-dimensional FFP case is employed for the basic optimization of the FFP position to achieve efficient navigation. Thereafter, a nine-coil electromagnetic actuation simulation system is developed to generate and manipulate the FFP position and |∇B|. Under certain vessel and fluid conditions, the particle trajectories of different ferromagnetic polymer ratios and |∇B| were compared to optimize the FFP position. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Micro/Nanorobotics)
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13 pages, 6138 KiB  
Article
Micromotor Manipulation Using Ultrasonic Active Traveling Waves
by Hiep Xuan Cao, Daewon Jung, Han-Sol Lee, Gwangjun Go, Minghui Nan, Eunpyo Choi, Chang-Sei Kim, Jong-Oh Park and Byungjeon Kang
Micromachines 2021, 12(2), 192; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi12020192 - 13 Feb 2021
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 3555
Abstract
The ability to manipulate therapeutic agents in fluids is of interest to improve the efficiency of targeted drug delivery. Ultrasonic manipulation has great potential in the field of therapeutic applications as it can trap and manipulate micro-scale objects. Recently, several methods of ultrasonic [...] Read more.
The ability to manipulate therapeutic agents in fluids is of interest to improve the efficiency of targeted drug delivery. Ultrasonic manipulation has great potential in the field of therapeutic applications as it can trap and manipulate micro-scale objects. Recently, several methods of ultrasonic manipulation have been studied through standing wave, traveling wave, and acoustic streaming. Among them, the traveling wave based ultrasonic manipulation is showing more advantage for in vivo environments. In this paper, we present a novel ultrasonic transducer (UT) array with a hemispherical arrangement that generates active traveling waves with phase modulation to manipulate a micromotor in water. The feasibility of the method could be demonstrated by in vitro and ex vivo experiments conducted using a UT array with 16 transducers operating at 1 MHz. The phase of each transducer was controlled independently for generating a twin trap and manipulation of a micromotor in 3D space. This study shows that the ultrasonic manipulation device using active traveling waves is a versatile tool that can be used for precise manipulation of a micromotor inserted in a human body and targeted for drug delivery. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Micro/Nanorobotics)
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