Intelligent Systems
Note: This research group has relocated.

A swarm of slippery micropropellers penetrates the vitreous body of the eye

2018

Article

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The intravitreal delivery of therapeutic agents promises major benefits in the field of ocular medicine. Traditional delivery methods rely on the random, passive diffusion of molecules, which do not allow for the rapid delivery of a concentrated cargo to a defined region at the posterior pole of the eye. The use of particles promises targeted delivery but faces the challenge that most tissues including the vitreous have a tight macromolecular matrix that acts as a barrier and prevents its penetration. Here, we demonstrate novel intravitreal delivery microvehicles slippery micropropellers that can be actively propelled through the vitreous humor to reach the retina. The propulsion is achieved by helical magnetic micropropellers that have a liquid layer coating to minimize adhesion to the surrounding biopolymeric network. The submicrometer diameter of the propellers enables the penetration of the biopolymeric network and the propulsion through the porcine vitreous body of the eye over centimeter distances. Clinical optical coherence tomography is used to monitor the movement of the propellers and confirm their arrival on the retina near the optic disc. Overcoming the adhesion forces and actively navigating a swarm of micropropellers in the dense vitreous humor promise practical applications in ophthalmology.

Author(s): Wu, Zhiguang and Troll, Jonas and Jeong, Hyeon Ho and Wei, Qiang and Stang, Marius and Ziemssen, Focke and Wang, Zegao and Dong, Mingdong and Schnichels, Sven and Qiu, Tian and Fischer, Peer
Journal: Science Advances
Volume: 4
Number (issue): 11
Pages: eaat4388
Year: 2018
Month: November
Day: 02

Department(s): Micro, Nano, and Molecular Systems
Bibtex Type: Article (article)

DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aat4388
Eprint: http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/11/eaat4388.full.pdf
State: Published
URL: http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/11/eaat4388

Links: Video: Nanorobots propel through the eye
Video:

BibTex

@article{2018wu,
  title = {A swarm of slippery micropropellers penetrates the vitreous body of the eye},
  author = {Wu, Zhiguang and Troll, Jonas and Jeong, Hyeon Ho and Wei, Qiang and Stang, Marius and Ziemssen, Focke and Wang, Zegao and Dong, Mingdong and Schnichels, Sven and Qiu, Tian and Fischer, Peer},
  journal = {Science Advances},
  volume = {4},
  number = {11},
  pages = {eaat4388},
  month = nov,
  year = {2018},
  doi = {10.1126/sciadv.aat4388},
  eprint = {http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/11/eaat4388.full.pdf},
  url = {http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/11/eaat4388},
  month_numeric = {11}
}