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REVIEW article

Front. Chem.
Sec. Chemical Physics and Physical Chemistry
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fchem.2025.1537917
This article is part of the Research Topic Advanced Functional Materials, Structures and Devices for Advancing Human Healthcare Applications View all 5 articles

Advances in Micro-/Nanorobots for Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment: Propulsion Mechanisms, Early Detection, and Cancer Therapy

Provisionally accepted
Baiyang Fu Baiyang Fu 1Dan Luo Dan Luo 2*Chao Li Chao Li 3*Yiwen Feng Yiwen Feng 4*Wenlong Liang Wenlong Liang 5*
  • 1 Department of Breast Surgery, The second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
  • 2 College of Automotive and Mechanical Engineering, Harbin Cambridge University, Harbin, Jilin Province, China
  • 3 Daqing Oilfield General Hospital, Daqing, China
  • 4 Key Laboratory for Micro/Nano Technology and System of Liaoning Province, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China
  • 5 Department of Breast Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Jilin Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    In recent years, medical micro-/nanorobots (MNRs) have emerged as a promising technology for diagnosing and treating malignant tumors. MNRs enable precise, targeted actions at the cellular level, addressing several limitations of conventional cancer diagnosis and treatment, such as insufficient early diagnosis, nonspecific drug delivery, and chemoresistance. This review provides an in-depth discussion of the propulsion mechanisms of MNRs, including chemical fuels, external fields (light, ultrasound, magnetism), biological propulsion, and hybrid methods, highlighting their respective advantages and limitations. Additionally, we discuss novel approaches for tumor diagnosis, precision surgery, and drug delivery, emphasizing their potential clinical applications. Despite significant advancements, challenges such as biocompatibility, propulsion efficiency, and clinical translation persist. This review examines the current state of MNR applications and outlines future directions for their development, with the aim of enhancing their diagnostic and therapeutic efficacy and facilitating their integration into clinical practice.

    Keywords: Micro-/nanorobots, Propulsion mechanisms, Drug delivery, cancer diagnosis, targeted therapy

    Received: 02 Dec 2024; Accepted: 20 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Fu, Luo, Li, Feng and Liang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Dan Luo, College of Automotive and Mechanical Engineering, Harbin Cambridge University, Harbin, Jilin Province, China
    Chao Li, Daqing Oilfield General Hospital, Daqing, China
    Yiwen Feng, Key Laboratory for Micro/Nano Technology and System of Liaoning Province, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China
    Wenlong Liang, Department of Breast Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150001, Jilin Province, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.