Light-powered robot swarms may replace antibiotics for tough sinus infections

Yahoo

3 days ago

Swarms of microrobots have been designed to help get rid of bacterial sinus infections. After completing the task, these tiny robots can be easily expelled from the nose.
Interestingly, these tiny, light-activated robots are reportedly as small as a "dust speck."
These are called CBMRs (copper single–atom–loaded bismuth oxoiodide photocatalytic microrobots).
The China-Hong Kong team has successfully inserted newly developed microrobots into animal sinuses during preclinical trials to treat bacterial infections.
'Our proposed microrobotic therapeutic platform offers the advantages of noninvasiveness, minimal resistance, and drug-free intervention,' the researchers from Guangxi University, Shenzhen University, and the Chinese University of Hong Kong stated.
Chronic sinusitis treatments have long been problematic, offering a choice between invasive surgery and often ineffective drug delivery.
In the past, magnetic microrobots have been created, but it's tough for them to move through inflamed areas in the body that are clogged with thick pus and cellular debris.
Driven by the limitations of current treatments, scientists, under the leadership of Haidong Yu, engineered these light-activated microbots to combat deep-seated bacterial infections in the sinuses effectively.
Researchers first created tiny magnetic particles (CBMRs) containing antibacterial copper. They then built a special magnetically guided optical fiber to both control the movement of these microrobots and shine visible light on them.
Here's how these tiny bots work.
Reportedly, microrobot swarms are injected into the sinus cavity through the nostril duct.
A magnetic field can precisely steer them, navigating even the most inflamed and viscous sinus environments directly to the infection site.
'They constructed a magnetically guided optical fiber that could coordinate the movements of CBMR swarms and illuminate them with visible light. Under a magnetic field, CBMRs exert collective mechanical forces that disrupt bacterial cell walls,' the team explained.
Once in place, this designed optical fiber shines visible light, activating the CBMRs, and causing them to release heat for better movement.
When activated by light, these microrobots perform two key functions: they exert collective mechanical forces to break apart robust bacterial biofilms.
Moreover, they generate antibacterial reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are free radicals that effectively kill the now-exposed bacteria.
The team tested the microbots on animal models.
In preclinical trials, these microrobots proved highly effective: they eliminated bacterial biofilms in lab settings and successfully cleared infections in rabbit models of sinusitis.
Moreover, CBMRs were shown to effectively clear bacteria from pig sinuses outside of a living body.
Remarkably, these positive outcomes occurred without tissue damage or side effects, and the microrobots were even naturally expelled from the nose.
The team says this new approach comes with various benefits.
As it's non-invasive, the technique eliminates the need for complex surgeries. Moreover, it promotes minimal resistance since it doesn't depend on traditional drugs, thereby reducing the risk of antibiotic resistance. Essentially, it offers a novel, drug-free intervention for fighting infections.
'The authors propose that their approach could be applied to treat other sinus-related diseases,' the press release noted.
The findings were published in the journal Science Robotics.