3d printed magnet robots for cell delivery with tuned flexibility

FLEXIBILITY Veronika Magdanz, Arnau Llobera, Judith Fuentes, Dalia Mahdy, Islam S.M. Khalil, Maria Guix, Samuel Sanchez 1Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST). Barcelona, Spain German University in Cairo, New Cairo City, Egypt 3Department of Biomechanical Engineering, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands 4Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avancats (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain ABSTRACT Magnetically actuated microrobots have the potential to make medical operations less invasive, more precise and remotely controlled. Therefore, they are promising for many applications such as targeted therapy or minimally invasive surgeries. Current challenges in the field of magnetic microrobotics include efficient propulsion and biocompatibility. This article addresses both of these aspects and aims to optimize the flexibility of a soft magnetic swimmer by tuning its material properties, define different magnetic segments and investigate its biocompatibility and potential as cell delivery machine.