Soft functional materials

If micro and nanorobotics are to be used for future biomedical applications such has diagnostics and targeted drug delivery, these small-scale robots must be both biocompatible and biodegradable.

We are currently developing biodegradable, biocompatible, temperature sensitive microstructures composed of gelatine, iron oxide magnetic particles and water, as potential materials for the fabrication of microrobots. The structures are fabricated using micro template-assisted methods and are manipulated by a magnetic steering system. The structures are deformed and melted by heat generated by a magnetic heating coil system.