ReviewCyborg and bionic systems (Washington, D.C.)2026
Autonomous Microrobots for Spatiotemporally Active Therapeutic Delivery and Controlled Release.
Review in Cyborg and bionic systems (Washington, D.C.), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The clinical efficacy of many conventional passive drug delivery systems is frequently constrained by their low targeting efficiency, important off-target toxicity, and inadequate capacity for traversing biological barriers. Autonomous microrobots, as miniature intelligent platforms capable of active navigation and on-demand responsiveness, offer an active delivery strategy for achieving spatiotemporally precise targeted therapy. This review aims to systematically consolidate and critique the theoretical foundations, key technologies, cutting-edge applications, and future challenges of this emergent interdisciplinary field. We first provide an in-depth analysis of the technological frameworks underpinning the 2 core functionalities: targeted delivery and on-demand release. This encompasses a diverse array of propulsion and navigation strategies-from chemical and physical fields to biohybrid systems-as well as programmed drug release mechanisms responsive to endogenous and exogenous stimuli. Building on this, we introduce a hierarchical paradigm organized by biological-barrier traversal capability to review the preclinical progress of microrobots, from localized delivery in accessible body cavities to deep-tissue and trans-barrier applications. This function-oriented framework more directly links microrobot design to the progressive physiological constraints encountered in vivo, thereby providing a more integrated and translationally relevant perspective on biomedical applications and clinical potential. Concurrently, this paper examines the bottlenecks impeding their clinical translation, including biosafety, systemic controllability, and regulatory science. Looking forward, the deep integration of microrobotics with smart materials, artificial intelligence, and theranostic systems is poised to cultivate a new generation of intelligent medical robots capable of personalized treatment via closed-loop manners.
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.