{
  "abstract": "Magnetic microrobots require anisotropic geometries to achieve controlled locomotion and adaptable material compositions to incorporate functions such as stimuli-responsive cargo release. However, existing fabrication strategies rarely combine stable, well-defined anisotropic structures with broad material versatility. Here, we introduce a bottom-up assembly approach that converts magnetic polymer nanoparticles into solid conical microrobots while retaining compatibility with multiple polymer systems. Using the same fabrication protocol, we assemble microrobots from different biocompatible or biodegradable polymers, including poly(methyl methacrylate), poly(l-lactic acid), and poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid), yielding structures with tunable size, robust mechanical stability, and well-defined anisotropic shapes. These solid assemblies remain intact during actuation and exhibit controlled magnetic locomotion under both magnetic-field gradients and rotating magnetic fields. Beyond locomotion, polymer selection enables functional integration without changing the fabrication strategy. In particular, poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)-based microrobots exhibit pH-triggered cargo release, with enhanced degradation under acidic conditions. This work establishes polymer nanoparticle assembly as a versatile platform that decouples microrobot geometry for locomotion from polymer composition for material-dependent functionality.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering, ETH Zurich Tannenstrasse 3 Zurich 8092 Switzerland minghu@ethz.ch.",
    "Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research Ackermannweg 10 55128 Mainz Germany."
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 9,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Pavlos Kotronaros"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Haiyue Li"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jan Frey"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Haitam Rarhai"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Diya Bose"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Michael Kappl",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-7335-1707"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Bradley J Nelson",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-9070-6987"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Salvador Pané",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-0147-8287"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Minghan Hu",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-9001-6780"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3a9gq10r5j494.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1039/d6lp00313c",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13684354",
  "id": "3a9gq10r5j494",
  "issns": [
    "2755-371X"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42909381",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "3104|Micro and Nano Robotics"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7222171101",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": "PMC13684354",
  "pmid": "42909381",
  "published": "2026-10-15",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3a9gq10r5j494.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:20:10Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42909381",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42909381"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "openalex:3104|Micro and Nano Robotics",
      "subfield": "condensed-matter"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Evaporation-assembled magnetic microrobots with stable geometry and polymer-tunable function.",
  "title_text": "Evaporation-assembled magnetic microrobots with stable geometry and polymer-tunable function.",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:20:10Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3a9gq10r5j494",
  "venue": "RSC applied polymers",
  "versions": []
}