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 -