Magnetic Compartmentalized Microrobots: On-Chip Fabrication and Actuation of Dual-Core Magnetic Hydrogel Capsules

TY - JOUR

T1 - Magnetic Compartmentalized Microrobots

T2 - On-Chip Fabrication and Actuation of Dual-Core Magnetic Hydrogel Capsules

AU - Liu, Xiaoming

AU - Zhong, Zhenwu

AU - Shan, Jiaqi

AU - Chen, Zhuo

AU - Li, Yuke

AU - Zhao, Yue

AU - Huang, Qiang

AU - Fukuda, Toshio

AU - Arai, Tatsuo

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2026 IEEE. All rights reserved.

PY - 2026

Y1 - 2026

N2 - Magnetic microrobots have emerged as transformative tools for biomedical applications, particularly in targeted cargo delivery within confined environments. Despite their potential, existing systems lack the capability for co-encapsulation of various incompatible components in isolated compartments. In this paper, we propose a magnetic compartmentalized microrobot (MCM) fabricated on-chip with hydrogel. Our approach leverages a microfluidic aqueous two-phase system to create hydrogel capsules with dual cores, where two core flows composed of dextran and shell flow containing sodium alginate and magnetic particles are sequentially sheared by oil phase, crosslinked by calcium ion, and magnetized via an electromagnet, to produce MCMs massively. The resulting architecture enables separate encapsulation of incompatible components within two cores isolated by a hydrogel shell. Precise control over flow rates allows tunable sizing of both core and capsule dimensions. Under rotating magnetic fields, MCMs demonstrate programmable individual and collective behaviors, including directional motion, dispersion, and aggregation. We further characterize the system’s drug-release kinetics and swelling properties in simulated gastrointestinal environments. These findings highlight MCMs’ significant potential for tissue engineering, combinatorial drug delivery, and transport of incompatible bioactive agents.

AB - Magnetic microrobots have emerged as transformative tools for biomedical applications, particularly in targeted cargo delivery within confined environments. Despite their potential, existing systems lack the capability for co-encapsulation of various incompatible components in isolated compartments. In this paper, we propose a magnetic compartmentalized microrobot (MCM) fabricated on-chip with hydrogel. Our approach leverages a microfluidic aqueous two-phase system to create hydrogel capsules with dual cores, where two core flows composed of dextran and shell flow containing sodium alginate and magnetic particles are sequentially sheared by oil phase, crosslinked by calcium ion, and magnetized via an electromagnet, to produce MCMs massively. The resulting architecture enables separate encapsulation of incompatible components within two cores isolated by a hydrogel shell. Precise control over flow rates allows tunable sizing of both core and capsule dimensions. Under rotating magnetic fields, MCMs demonstrate programmable individual and collective behaviors, including directional motion, dispersion, and aggregation. We further characterize the system’s drug-release kinetics and swelling properties in simulated gastrointestinal environments. These findings highlight MCMs’ significant potential for tissue engineering, combinatorial drug delivery, and transport of incompatible bioactive agents.

KW - Micro/nano robotics

KW - hydrogel capsules

KW - magnetic microrobots

KW - microfluidic devices

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105035643863

U2 - 10.1109/TASE.2026.3678285

DO - 10.1109/TASE.2026.3678285

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:105035643863

SN - 1545-5955

VL - 23

SP - 7830

EP - 7842

JO - IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering

JF - IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering

ER -