Sun Bonan, Guo Junjia, Hao Bo, Cao Yanfei, Chan Tony K F, Sun Mengmeng, Sung Joseph J Y, Zhang Li
Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Sci Adv. 2025 Mar 14;11(11):eadt8213. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adt8213. Epub 2025 Mar 12.
Recalcitrant biofilm infections pose a great challenge to human health. Micro- and nanorobots have been used to eliminate biofilm infections in hard-to-reach regions inside the body. However, applying antibiofilm robots under physiological conditions is limited by the conflicting demands of accessibility and driving force. Here, we introduce a liquid-bodied antibiofilm robot constructed by a dynamically cross-linked magnetic hydrogel. Leveraging the viscoelastic response of the robot enables it to adapt to complex surface topographies such as medical meshes and stents. Upon actuation, the robot can mechanically destroy the biofilm matrix, chemically deactivate bacterial cells, and collect disrupted biofilm debris. The robot's antibiofilm performance is studied in vitro and demonstrated on a medical mesh and a biliary stent. Tracking and navigation under endoscopy and x-ray imaging in an ex vivo porcine bile duct are demonstrated. Last, in vivo antibiofilm treatment is conducted by indwelling infected stents into mice's abdominal cavity and clearing the biofilm infection using the proposed robot.
顽固性生物膜感染对人类健康构成了巨大挑战。微型和纳米机器人已被用于消除体内难以触及区域的生物膜感染。然而，在生理条件下应用抗生物膜机器人受到可达性和驱动力相互冲突的需求的限制。在此，我们介绍一种由动态交联磁性水凝胶构建的液体抗生物膜机器人。利用机器人的粘弹性响应使其能够适应复杂的表面形貌，如医用网片和支架。在激活后，机器人可以机械破坏生物膜基质，化学灭活细菌细胞，并收集破碎的生物膜碎片。在体外研究了机器人的抗生物膜性能，并在医用网片和胆管支架上进行了演示。展示了在体外猪胆管中通过内窥镜和x射线成像进行的跟踪和导航。最后，通过将感染的支架植入小鼠腹腔并使用所提出的机器人清除生物膜感染来进行体内抗生物膜治疗。
