Nano-Micro Letters, Volume. 16, Issue 1, 251(2024)

Delivering Microrobots in the Musculoskeletal System

Mumin Cao1...2,3,†, Renwang Sheng1,2,3,†, Yimin Sun4, Ying Cao4, Hao Wang1,2,3, Ming Zhang1,2,3, Yunmeng Pu2, Yucheng Gao1,2,3, Yuanwei Zhang1,2,3, Panpan Lu1,2,3, Gaojun Teng5,*, Qianqian Wang4,**, and Yunfeng Rui1,23,*** |Show fewer author(s)
Author Affiliations
  • 1Department of Orthopaedics, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China
  • 2School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, People’s Republic of China
  • 3Orthopaedic Trauma Institute (OTI), Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, People’s Republic of China
  • 4Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Design and Manufacture of Micro-Nano Biomedical Instruments, School of Mechanical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, People’s Republic of China
  • 5Center of Interventional Radiology and Vascular Surgery, Department of Radiology, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, People’s Republic of China
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    Disorders of the musculoskeletal system are the major contributors to the global burden of disease and current treatments show limited efficacy. Patients often suffer chronic pain and might eventually have to undergo end-stage surgery. Therefore, future treatments should focus on early detection and intervention of regional lesions. Microrobots have been gradually used in organisms due to their advantages of intelligent, precise and minimally invasive targeted delivery. Through the combination of control and imaging systems, microrobots with good biosafety can be delivered to the desired area for treatment. In the musculoskeletal system, microrobots are mainly utilized to transport stem cells/drugs or to remove hazardous substances from the body. Compared to traditional biomaterial and tissue engineering strategies, active motion improves the efficiency and penetration of local targeting of cells/drugs. This review discusses the frontier applications of microrobotic systems in different tissues of the musculoskeletal system. We summarize the challenges and barriers that hinder clinical translation by evaluating the characteristics of different microrobots and finally point out the future direction of microrobots in the musculoskeletal system.

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    Mumin Cao, Renwang Sheng, Yimin Sun, Ying Cao, Hao Wang, Ming Zhang, Yunmeng Pu, Yucheng Gao, Yuanwei Zhang, Panpan Lu, Gaojun Teng, Qianqian Wang, Yunfeng Rui. Delivering Microrobots in the Musculoskeletal System[J]. Nano-Micro Letters, 2024, 16(1): 251

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    Paper Information

    Category: Research Articles

    Received: Apr. 8, 2024

    Accepted: Jun. 16, 2024

    Published Online: Jan. 23, 2025

    The Author Email: Teng Gaojun (gjteng@vip.sina.com), Wang Qianqian (qqwang@seu.edu.cn), Rui Yunfeng (ruiyunfeng@126.com)

    DOI:10.1007/s40820-024-01464-8

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