Evaporation-assembled magnetic microrobots with stable geometry and polymer-tunable function.
- 1Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering, ETH Zurich Tannenstrasse 3 Zurich 8092 Switzerland [email protected].
- 2Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research Ackermannweg 10 55128 Mainz Germany.
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.
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BibTeX
@article{kotronaros2026evaporationassembled,
title = {{Evaporation-assembled magnetic microrobots with stable geometry and polymer-tunable function.}},
author = {Pavlos Kotronaros and Haiyue Li and Jan Frey and Haitam Rarhai and Diya Bose and Michael Kappl and Bradley J Nelson and Salvador Pané and Minghan Hu},
journal = {RSC applied polymers},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1039/d6lp00313c},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42909381},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Evaporation-assembled magnetic microrobots with stable geometry and polymer-tunable function.
AU - Pavlos Kotronaros
AU - Haiyue Li
AU - Jan Frey
AU - Haitam Rarhai
AU - Diya Bose
AU - Michael Kappl
AU - Bradley J Nelson
AU - Salvador Pané
AU - Minghan Hu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/15
JO - RSC applied polymers
DO - 10.1039/d6lp00313c
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42909381
AB - 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.
SN - 2755-371X
ER -