Issue 2, 2024

An extracellular matrix-mimicking magnetic microrobot for targeted elimination of circulating cancer cells

Abstract

Cancer cells disseminate through the bloodstream, leading to metastasis in distant sites within the body. One promising strategy to prevent metastasis is to eliminate circulating tumor cells. However, this remains challenging due to the lack of an active and targeted biomedical tool for efficient cancer cell elimination. Here, we developed a magnetic microrobot by using natural materials derived from the extracellular matrix (ECM) to mimic the ligand–receptor interaction between cancer cells and the ECM, offering targeted elimination of cancer cells. The ECM-mimicking microrobot is designed with a biodegradable hydrogel matrix, incorporating a cancer cell ligand and magnetic microparticles for cancer cell capture and active locomotion. This microrobot was fabricated based on an interface-shearing method, enabling controllable magnetic response and size scalability (30 μm–500 μm). The presented ECM-mimicking microrobot can actively approach and capture single cancer cells and cell clusters under the control of specific magnetic fields. The experiment was conducted in a blood vessel-mimicking simulator. The microrobot demonstrates an outstanding elimination efficacy of 92.3% on MDA-MB-231 cancer cells and a stable transport capability of the captured cells over long distances to a designed recycling site, inhibiting cell metastasis. This magnetic ECM-mimicking microrobot based on a bioinspired binding mechanism represents a promising candidate for the efficient elimination of cancer cells and other biological waste in the blood.

Graphical abstract: An extracellular matrix-mimicking magnetic microrobot for targeted elimination of circulating cancer cells

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
02 avq 2023
Accepted
13 noy 2023
First published
18 noy 2023
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Nanoscale, 2024,16, 624-634

An extracellular matrix-mimicking magnetic microrobot for targeted elimination of circulating cancer cells

J. Huang, Y. Liu, J. Wu, F. Dong, C. Liu, J. Luo, X. Liu, N. Wang, L. Wang and H. Xu, Nanoscale, 2024, 16, 624 DOI: 10.1039/D3NR03799A

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