Microscopic robots can deliver chemotherapy directly to lung cancer cells The microbots swim through the lungs to deliver the cancer-killing drugs Lab mice lived longer following treatment with the microbots FRIDAY, June 14, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists have developed microscopic robots capable of swimming through the lungs to deliver chemotherapy directly to cells. In early testing, these microbots extended the average survival time of lab mice with melanoma that had spread to the lungs, according to a report published June 12 in the journal . “This is a platform technology that can actively and efficiently deliver therapeutics throughout the entire lung tissue to combat different types of deadly diseases in the lungs,” said researcher , a professor of chemical and nano engineering at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD).
The microbots consist of drug-filled nanoparticles attached to the surface of green algae cells, researchers said. The algae enables the nanoparticles to swim around inside the lungs, finding and delivering chemotherapy to tumors. The nanoparticles themselves are made of tiny biodegradable polymer spheres.
The particles are loaded with the chemo drug , and then coated with red blood cell membranes. The red blood cell coating protects the particles from the immune system, explained lead researcher , a nanoengineering doctoral student at UCSD. “It acts as a camouflage,” Li said in a university news release.
“This coating makes the n.
