Engineering microrobots for targeted cancer therapies from a medical perspective

Schmidt, Christine K.; Medina‐Sánchez, Mariana; Edmondson, Richard; Schmidt, Oliver G.

doi:10.1038/s41467-020-19322-7

Cited by 281 publications

(251 citation statements)

References 204 publications

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“…Advances in genetic engineering have resulted in the ability to use genetically modified bacteria, thus reducing their off-target toxicity for the treatment of cancer. The ability to manipulate the bacterial genome has made them a favorable option compared to other microorganisms (17).…”

Section: Treatment Of Cancer Using Bacteriamentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of Salmonella Bacteria in Cancer Therapy: Direct, Drug Delivery and Combination Approaches

et al. 2021

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Over the years, conventional cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy with only a limited specificity for tumors, have undergone significant improvement. Moreover, newer therapies such as immunotherapy have undergone a revolution to stimulate the innate as well as adaptive immune responses against the tumor. However, it has been found that tumors can be selectively colonized by certain bacteria, where they can proliferate, and exert direct oncolytic effects as well as stimulating the immune system. Bacterial-mediated cancer therapy (BMCT) is now one example of a hot topic in the antitumor field. Salmonella typhimurium is a Gram-negative species that generally causes self-limiting gastroenteritis in humans. This species has been designed and engineered in order to be used in cancer-targeted therapeutics. S. typhimurium can be used in combination with other treatments such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy for synergistic modification of the tumor microenvironment. Considerable benefits have been shown by using engineered attenuated strains for the diagnosis and treatment of tumors. Some of these treatment approaches have received FDA approval for early-phase clinical trials. This review summarizes the use of Salmonella bacteria for cancer therapy, which could pave the way towards routine clinical application. The benefits of this therapy include an automatic self-targeting ability, and the possibility of genetic manipulation to produce newly engineered attenuated strains. Nevertheless, Salmonella-mediated anticancer therapy has not yet been clinically established, and requires more research before its use in cancer treatment.

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Section: Treatment Of Cancer Using Bacteriamentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of Salmonella Bacteria in Cancer Therapy: Direct, Drug Delivery and Combination Approaches

et al. 2021

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“…Vankayala et al effectively imaged intraperitoneal ovarian tumors in mice using NIRF dye-labeled, virus mimicking nanoparticles, which were derived from genome-depleted mosaic viruses and were functionalized with anti-HER2 antibodies [ 164 ]. Schmidt et al reviewed the characteristics of microrobots, which are motile microsystems that are designed to reach their targets after physical, biological, or chemical alterations [ 165 ]. Microrobots are highly engineerable and may consist of cell-made, synthetic, and hybrid components.…”

Section: Synthetic Nanoparticles For Igsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cell-Based Tracers as Trojan Horses for Image-Guided Surgery

Sier

Vries

Vorst

et al. 2021

IJMS

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Surgeons rely almost completely on their own vision and palpation to recognize affected tissues during surgery. Consequently, they are often unable to distinguish between different cells and tissue types. This makes accurate and complete resection cumbersome. Targeted image-guided surgery (IGS) provides a solution by enabling real-time tissue recognition. Most current targeting agents (tracers) consist of antibodies or peptides equipped with a radiolabel for Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) labels, or a near-infrared fluorescent (NIRF) dye. These tracers are preoperatively administered to patients, home in on targeted cells or tissues, and are visualized in the operating room via dedicated imaging systems. Instead of using these ‘passive’ tracers, there are other, more ‘active’ approaches of probe delivery conceivable by using living cells (macrophages/monocytes, neutrophils, T cells, mesenchymal stromal cells), cell(-derived) fragments (platelets, extracellular vesicles (exosomes)), and microorganisms (bacteria, viruses) or, alternatively, ‘humanized’ nanoparticles. Compared with current tracers, these active contrast agents might be more efficient for the specific targeting of tumors or other pathological tissues (e.g., atherosclerotic plaques). This review provides an overview of the arsenal of possibilities applicable for the concept of cell-based tracers for IGS.

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“…Microrobots could facilitate specialized tasks in medicine 17 , including surgical procedures and drug delivery to hard-to-access sites in vivo. Chemical [18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] and external field-driven, such as magnetic [27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35] , light [36][37][38] , electrical 39 , biohybrid [40][41][42] or ultrasound [43][44][45][46][47][48] -microrobots are attractive because they do not require an onboard power supply or intricate moving parts and allow wireless control of the microrobot.…”

Section: Bioinspired Microrobotmentioning

confidence: 99%

Starfish-inspired Ultrasound Ciliary Bands for Microrobotic Systems

Dillinger¹,

Nama²,

Ahmed³

2021

Preprint

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Cilia are short, hair-like appendages ubiquitous in various biological systems, which have evolved to manipulate and gather food in liquids at regimes where viscosity dominates inertia. Inspired by these natural systems, synthetic cilia have been developed and cleverly utilized in microfluidics and microrobotics to achieve functionalities such as propulsion, liquid pumping and mixing, and particle manipulation. In this article, we present the first demonstration of ultrasound-activated synthetic ciliary bands that mimic the natural arrangements of ciliary bands on the surface of starfish larva. Our system leverages nonlinear acoustics at microscales to drive bulk fluid motion via acoustically actuated small-amplitude oscillations of synthetic cilia. By arranging the planar ciliary bands angled towards (+) or away (–) from each other, we achieve bulk fluid motion akin to a flow source or sink. We further combine these flow characteristics with a novel physical principle to circumvent the scallop theorem and realize acoustic-based propulsion at microscales. Finally, inspired by the feeding mechanism of a starfish larva, we demonstrate an analogous microparticle trap by arranging + and – ciliary bands adjacent to each other.

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Engineering microrobots for targeted cancer therapies from a medical perspective

Cited by 281 publications

References 204 publications

Use of Salmonella Bacteria in Cancer Therapy: Direct, Drug Delivery and Combination Approaches

Use of Salmonella Bacteria in Cancer Therapy: Direct, Drug Delivery and Combination Approaches

Cell-Based Tracers as Trojan Horses for Image-Guided Surgery

Starfish-inspired Ultrasound Ciliary Bands for Microrobotic Systems

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