Nanobots: Revolutionising the Next Generation of Biomedical Technology
and Drug Therapy

Vandana      Panda; Akash      Saindane; Aditya      Pandey

doi:10.2174/1574885518666230726123433

Abstract

Nanoscale machines called “nanorobots” that were hitherto only futuristic ideas are set to storm healthcare and pharmaceuticals with newer technologies for minimally invasive diagnosis, quick and precise surgeries, and targeted drug delivery, which is challenging to achieve by conventional drug delivery systems. Nanobots can be defined as controllable nano-sized mechanical or electromechanical devices which are easily incorporated into cells and used for a variety of cellular functions like combating bacteria and viruses, disposing away dead cells/tissue at the place of a wound, cell/tissue repair and destruction of cancer cells, and also for transporting drugs to cells. Nanorobots can help avoid the untoward effects of traditional drug delivery systems and ameliorate the efficiency of drug delivery by quickly entering the desired cells without affecting other organs. With the advent of mobile communication, artificial neural networks, and Information Technology, futuristic and more advanced nanobots with artificial intelligence are in the offing. However, the challenges to this revolutionary technology are umpteen, the major concern being their interaction inside the human body. This review explicitly expounds on nanobots and their applications to medicine, biomedical research, and drug delivery.

« Previous Next »

Graphical Abstract

[1]
Feynman RP. There’s plenty of room at the bottom. Eng Sci  1960; 23: 22-36.

[2]
Drexler KE. Engines of creation: The coming era of nanotechnology. New York: Anchor Books 1986.

[3]
Freitas RA Jr. Progress in nanorobotics for advancing biomedicine. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng  2021; 68(1): 130-47.

[4]
Shirai Y, Osgood AJ, Zhao Y, Kelly KF, Tour JM. Directional control in thermally driven single-molecule nanocars. Nano Lett  2005; 5(11): 2330-4.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/nl051915k] [PMID: 16277478]

[5]
Soto F, Wang J, Ahmed R, Demirci U. Medical micro/nanorobots in precision medicine. Adv Sci  2020; 7(21): 2002203.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/advs.202002203] [PMID: 33173743]

[6]
Malik P, Gulati N, Malik RK, Nagaich U. Carbon nanotubes, quantum dots and dendrimers as potential nanodevices for nanotechnology drug delivery systems. International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Nanotechnology  2013; 6(3): 2113-24.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.37285/ijpsn.2013.6.3.2]

[7]
Cavalcanti A, Shirinzadeh B, Freitas R Jr, Kretly L. Medical nanorobot architecture based on nanobioelectronics. Recent Pat Nanotechnol  2007; 1(1): 1-10.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.2174/187221007779814745] [PMID: 19076015]

[8]
Sun L, Yu Y, Chen Z, et al. Biohybrid robotics with living cell actuation. Chem Soc Rev  2020; 49(12): 4043-69.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/D0CS00120A] [PMID: 32417875]

[9]
Giri G, Maddahi Y, Zareinia K. A brief review on challenges in design and development of nanorobots for medical applications. Appl Sci  2021; 11(21): 10385.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/app112110385]

[10]
Saxena S, Pramod BJ, Dayananda BC, Nagaraju K. Design, architecture and application of nanorobotics in oncology. Indian J Cancer  2015; 52(2): 236-41.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/0019-509X.175805] [PMID: 26853420]

[11]
Thiruchelvi R, Sikdar E, Das A, Rajakumari K. Nanobots in today’s world. Res J Pharm Tech  2020; 13(4): 2033-9.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.5958/0974-360X.2020.00366.2]

[12]
Ghosh A, Fischer P. Controlled propulsion of artificial magnetic nanostructured propellers. Nano Lett  2009; 9(6): 2243-5.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/nl900186w] [PMID: 19413293]

[13]
Yang Z, Zhang L. Magnetic actuation systems for miniature robots: A review Adv. Adv Intell Syst  2020; 2(9): 2000082.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/aisy.202000082]

[14]
Ali J, Cheang UK, Martindale JD, Jabbarzadeh M, Fu HC, Jun Kim M. Bacteria-inspired nanorobots with flagellar polymorphic transformations and bundling. Sci Rep  2017; 7(1): 14098.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-14457-y] [PMID: 29074862]

[15]
Jo W, Freedman KJ, Yi DK, Kim MJ. Fabrication of tunable silica-mineralized nanotubes using flagella as bio-templates. Nanotechnology  2012; 23(5): 055601.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0957-4484/23/5/055601] [PMID: 22236516]

[16]
Ghassan AA, Mijan NA, Taufiq-Yap YH. Nanomaterials: An overview of nanorods synthesis and optimization. Nanorods and nanocomposites  2019; 11(11): 8-33.

[17]
Wu Z, Chen Y, Mukasa D, Pak OS, Gao W. Medical micro/nanorobots in complex media. Chem Soc Rev  2020; 49(22): 8088-112.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/D0CS00309C] [PMID: 32596700]

[18]
Nummelin S, Shen B, Piskunen P, Liu Q, Kostiainen MA, Linko V. Robotic DNA Nanostructures. ACS Synth Biol  2020; 9(8): 1923-40.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acssynbio.0c00235] [PMID: 32589832]

[19]
Arvidsson R, Hansen SF. Environmental and health risks of nanorobots: An early review. Environ Sci Nano  2020; 7(10): 2875-86.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/D0EN00570C]

[20]
Wang J, Li Y, Nie G. Multifunctional biomolecule nanostructures for cancer therapy. Nat Rev Mater  2021; 6(9): 766-83.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41578-021-00315-x] [PMID: 34026278]

[21]
Hu Y, Chen Z, Zhang H, et al. Development of DNA tetrahedron-based drug delivery system. Drug Deliv  2017; 24(1): 1295-301.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10717544.2017.1373166] [PMID: 28891335]

[22]
Kothamasu P, Kanumur H, Ravur N, Maddu C, Parasuramrajam R, Thangavel S. Nanocapsules: The weapons for novel drug delivery systems. Bioimpacts  2012; 2(2): 71-81.
 [PMID: 23678444]

[23]
Patra JK, Das G, Fraceto LF, et al. Nano based drug delivery systems: Recent developments and future prospects. J Nanobiotechnology  2018; 16(1): 71.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12951-018-0392-8] [PMID: 30231877]

[24]
Li S, Jiang Q, Liu S, et al. A DNA nanorobot functions as a cancer therapeutic in response to a molecular trigger in vivo. Nat Biotechnol  2018; 36(3): 258-64.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nbt.4071] [PMID: 29431737]

[25]
Mei Y, Solovev AA, Sanchez S, Schmidt OG. Rolled-up nanotech on polymers: From basic perception to self-propelled catalytic microengines. Chem Soc Rev  2011; 40(5): 2109-19.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/c0cs00078g] [PMID: 21340080]

[26]
Wani TU, Raza SN, Khan NA, Sheikh FA. Recent advances in the emergence of nanorobotics in medicine. App Nanotech BiomedSci  2020; 2020: 119-48.

[27]
Zhang Y, Zhang L, Yang L, et al. Real-time tracking of fluorescent magnetic spore–based microrobots for remote detection of C. diff toxins. Sci Adv  2019; 5(1): eaau9650.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aau9650] [PMID: 30746470]

[28]
Wang Q, Li T, Fang D, et al. Micromotor for removal/detection of blood copper ion. Microchem J  2020; 158: 105125.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.microc.2020.105125]

[29]
Molinero-Fernández Á, Moreno-Guzmán M, Arruza L, López MÁ, Escarpa A. Polymer-based micromotor fluorescence immunoassay for on-the-move sensitive procalcitonin determination in very low birth weight infants’ plasma. ACS Sens  2020; 5(5): 1336-44.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acssensors.9b02515] [PMID: 32204587]

[30]
Hofmann-Amtenbrink M, Hofmann H, Montet X. Superparamagnetic nanoparticles - a tool for early diagnostics. Swiss Med Wkly  2010; 140(3738): w13081.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.4414/smw.2010.13081] [PMID: 20853192]

[31]
Dong Z, Xue X, Liang H, Guan J, Chang L. DNA nanomachines for identifying cancer biomarkers in body fluids and cells. Anal Chem  2021; 93(4): 1855-65.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.0c03518] [PMID: 33325676]

[32]
Xie J, Lee S, Chen X. Nanoparticle-based theranostic agents. Adv Drug Deliv Rev  2010; 62(11): 1064-79.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.addr.2010.07.009] [PMID: 20691229]

[33]
Hu M, Ge X, Chen X, Mao W, Qian X, Yuan WE. Micro/nanorobot: A promising targeted drug delivery system. Pharmaceutics  2020; 12(7): 665.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics12070665] [PMID: 32679772]

[34]
Freitas RA Jr. Pharmacytes: An ideal vehicle for targeted drug delivery. J Nanosci Nanotechnol  2006; 6(9): 2769-75.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1166/jnn.2006.413] [PMID: 17048481]

[35]
Mitra M. Medical nanobot for cell and tissue repair. Int Robot & Automat J  2017; 2(6): 00038.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.15406/iratj.2017.02.00038]

[36]
Fathi-Achachelouei M, Knopf-Marques H, Ribeiro da Silva CE, et al. Use of nanoparticles in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Front Bioeng Biotechnol  2019; 7: 113.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2019.00113] [PMID: 31179276]

[37]
Lee BH, Tour JM, Kim C-Y, et al. Spinal cord fusion with PEG-GNRs (TexasPEG): Neurophysiological recovery in 24 hours in rats. Surg Neurol Int  2016; 7(25) (Suppl. 24): 632.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/2152-7806.190475] [PMID: 27656326]

[38]
Freitas RA Jr. The ideal gene delivery vector: Chromallocytes, cell repair nanorobots for chromosome replacement therapy. J Evol Technol  2007; 16(1): 1-94.

[39]
Singh R. Nanotechnology based therapeutic application in cancer diagnosis and therapy. 3 Biotech  2019; 9(11): 415.

[40]
Logothetidis S, Ed. Nanomedicine: The medicine of tomorrowNanomedicine and Nanobiotechnology.  Heidelberg: Springer 2012; pp. 1-26.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-24181-9_1]

[41]
Maheswari R, Sheeba RS, Gomathy V, Sharmila P. Cancer detecting nanobot using positron emission tomography. Procedia Comput Sci  2018; 133: 315-22.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2018.07.039]

[42]
Aggarwal M, Kumar S. The use of nanorobotics in the treatment therapy of cancer and its future aspects: A review. Cureus  2022; 14(9): e29366.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.7759/cureus.29366] [PMID: 36304358]

[43]
Andhari SS, Wavhale RD, Dhobale KD, et al. Self-propelling targeted magneto-nanobots for deep tumor penetration and pH-Responsive intracellular drug delivery. Sci Rep  2020; 10(1): 4703.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-61586-y] [PMID: 32170128]

[44]
Li J, Esteban-Fernández de Ávila B, Gao W, Zhang L, Wang J. Micro/nanorobots for biomedicine: Delivery, surgery, sensing, and detoxification. Sci Robot  2017; 2(4): eaam6431.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/scirobotics.aam6431] [PMID: 31552379]

[45]
Marras AE, Zhou L, Su HJ, Castro CE. Programmable motion of DNA origami mechanisms. Proc Natl Acad Sci  2015; 112(3): 713-8.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1408869112] [PMID: 25561550]

[46]
Rahul VA. A brief review on nanorobots. SSRG Int J Mech Eng  2017; 4(8): 15-21.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.14445/23488360/IJME-V4I8P104]

[47]
Parashar A. Aptamers in therapeutics. J Clin Diagn Res  2016; 10(6): BE01-6.
 [PMID: 27504277]

[48]
Lee JH, Tan JY, Toh CT, et al. Nanometer thick elastic graphene engine. Nano Lett  2014; 14(5): 2677-80.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/nl500568d] [PMID: 24773247]

[49]
Seyedi SMR, Asoodeh A, Darroudi M. The human immune cell simulated anti-breast cancer nanorobot: The efficient, traceable, and dirigible anticancer bio-bot. Cancer Nanotechnol  2022; 13(1): 44.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12645-022-00150-x]

[50]
Hortelão AC, Patiño T, Perez-Jiménez A, Blanco À, Sánchez S. Enzyme-powered nanobots enhance anticancer drug delivery. Adv Funct Mater  2018; 28(25): 1705086.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201705086]

[51]
Freitas RA Jr. Nanodentistry. J Am Dent Assoc  2000; 131(11): 1559-65.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.14219/jada.archive.2000.0084] [PMID: 11103574]

[52]
Nagpal A, Kaur J, Sharma S, Bansal A, Sachdev P. Nanotechnology-the era of molecular dentistry. Indian J Dent Sci  2011; 3(5)

[53]
Vijayalakshmi R, Kumar SR. Nanotechnology in dentistry. Indian J Dent Res  2006; 17(2): 62-5.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/0970-9290.29890] [PMID: 17051869]

[54]
Ozak ST, Ozkan P. Nanotechnology and dentistry. Eur J Dent  2013; 7(1): 145-51.
 [PMID: 23408486]

[55]
Chen H, Clarkson BH, Sun K, Mansfield JF. Self-assembly of synthetic hydroxyapatite nanorods into an enamel prism-like structure. J Colloid Interface Sci  2005; 288(1): 97-103.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2005.02.064] [PMID: 15927567]

[56]
Shetty NJ, Swati P, David K. Nanorobots: Future in dentistry. Saudi Dent J  2013; 25(2): 49-52.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sdentj.2012.12.002] [PMID: 23960556]

[57]
Saadeh Y, Vyas D. Nanorobotic applications in medicine: Current proposals and designs. Am J Robot Surg  2014; 1(1): 4-11.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1166/ajrs.2014.1010] [PMID: 26361635]

[58]
Cavalcanti A, Rosen L, Shirinzadeh B, Rosenfeld M, Paulo S, Aviv T. Nanorobot for treatment of patients with artery occlusion. France: Springer 2006.

[59]
Malhotra P, Shahdadpuri N. Nano-robotic based thrombolysis: Dissolving blood clots using nanobots.  IEEE 17th India Council International Conference (INDICON). 1.4. 2020

[60]
Kshirsagar N, Patil SG, Kshirsagar R, Wagh AS, Bade A. Review on application of nanorobots in health care. World J Pharm Pharm Sci  2014; 3(5): 472-80.

[61]
Chrusch DD, Podaima BW, Gordon R. Cytobots: Intracellular robotic micromanipulators. In: Kinsner W, Sebak A, Eds. IIE Canadian Conference on Electrical and Computer Engineering 2002;.  Winnipeg. 2002; pp. 1640-5.

[62]
Cavalcanti A, Shirinzadeh B, Fukuda T, Ikeda S. Nanorobot for brain aneurysm. Int J Robot Res  2009; 28(4): 558-70.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0278364908097586]

[63]
Chang WC, Hawkes EA, Kliot M, Sretavan DW. In vivo use of a nanoknife for axon microsurgery. Neurosurgery  2007; 61(4): 683-92.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1227/01.NEU.0000298896.31355.80] [PMID: 17986929]

[64]
Chang WC, Hawkes EA, Kliot M, Sretavan DW. The Future of HIV AIDS Treatment. Int J Sci Res  2020; 9: 420-3.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1227/01.NEU.0000298896.31355.80] [PMID: 17986929]

[65]
Joshi A, Hawkes EA, Pardeshi A. Anti-HIV Using Nanorobots. IOSR J Elect ElectronEng  2013; 7: 84-90.

[66]
Sharma P, Garg S. Pure drug and polymer-based nanotechnologies for the improved solubility, stability, bioavailability and targeting of anti-HIV drugs. Adv Drug Deliv Rev  2010; 62(4-5): 491-502.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1227/01.NEU.0000298896.31355.80] [PMID: 17986929]

[67]
Fotooh Abadi L, Damiri F, Zehravi M, et al. Novel Nanotechnology-Based Approaches for Targeting HIV Reservoirs. Polymers  2022; 14(15): 3090.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/polym14153090] [PMID: 35956604]

[68]
Cash KJ, Clark HA. Nanosensors and nanomaterials for monitoring glucose in diabetes. Trends Mol Med  2010; 16(12): 584-93.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.molmed.2010.08.002] [PMID: 20869318]

[69]
Cavalcanti A, Shirinzadeh B, Kretly LC. Medical nanorobotics for diabetes control. Nanomedicine  2008; 4(2): 127-38.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nano.2008.03.001] [PMID: 18455965]

[70]
Freitas RA Jr. Microbivores: Artificial mechanical phagocytes using digest and discharge protocol. J Evol Technol  2005; 14(1): 54-106.

[71]
Freitas RA Jr. A mechanical artificial red cell: Exploratory design in medical nanotechnology. Artif Cells Blood Substit Immobil Biotechnol  1998; 26: 411-30.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/10731199809117682] [PMID: 9663339]

[72]
Aydin O, Zhang X, Nuethong S, et al. Neuromuscular actuation of biohybrid motile bots. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA  2019; 116(40): 19841-7.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1907051116] [PMID: 31527266]

[73]
Freitas RA Jr. Clottocytes: Artificial mechanical platelets. Foresight Update  2000; 41: 9-11.

[74]
Ramanujam E, Rasikannan L, Kamal NA, Kamal NA. Xenobots. A remarkable combination of an artificial intelligence-based biological living robot. Int J Sociotechnology Knowl Dev  2021; 14(1): 1-11.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/IJSKD.289038]

[75]
Zhu F, Tan G, Zhong Y, et al. Smart nanoplatform for sequential drug release and enhanced chemo-thermal effect of dual drug loaded gold nanorod vesicles for cancer therapy. J Nanobiotechnology  2019; 17(1): 44.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12951-019-0473-3] [PMID: 30917812]

[76]
 Bionaut Labs launches with plans to attack brain tumors with tiny, guided robots. 2021. Available From: https://www.fiercebiotech. com/medtech/bionaut-labs-launches-plans-to-attack-brain-tumors-tiny-guided-robots

[77]
 Nanorobots: Small solutions to big delivery problems. 2022. Available From: https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/features/nanorobots-small-solutions-to-big-delivery-problems/

[78]
 Scientists at IISc Bengaluru develop helical nanobots that can deep clean teeth. 2022. Available From: https://www.financialexpress. com/healthcare/medicaldevices/scientists-at-iisc-bengaluru-develop-helical-nanobots-that-can-deep-clean-teeth/2529745/

[79]
Kriegman S, Blackiston D, Levin M, Bongard J. A scalable pipeline for designing reconfigurable organisms. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA  2020; 117(4): 1853-9.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1910837117] [PMID: 31932426]

[80]
 Maharashtra: MIMER develops nano robot for rapid cancer diagnosis. 2021. Available From: https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/maharashtra-mimer-develops-nanorobot-for-rapid-cancer-diagnosis-7655710/

[81]
Hoop M, Ribeiro AS, Rösch D, et al. Mobile magnetic nanocatalysts for bioorthogonal targeted cancer therapy. Adv Funct Mater  2018; 28(25): 1705920.
 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201705920]

[82]
 The Jewish General Hospital inaugurates a research laboratory on anti-cancer treatment via Magnetodrones. 2022. Available From: https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/the-jewish-general-hospital-inaugurates-a-research-laboratory-on-anti-cancer-treatment-via-magnetodrones-847777199.html

[83]
 Nanorobots market gross revenue, trends, size, application, future growth and is expected to grow USD 19576.43 million by 2029. 2022. Available From: https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2022/09/08/2512342/0/en/Nanorobots-Market-Gross-Revenue-Trends-Size-Application-Future-Growth-and-is-Expected-to-Grow-USD-19576-43-Million-by-2029.html

Rights & Permissions Print Cite

Journal Information

For Authors

For Editors

For Reviewers

Explore Articles

Open Access

Open Access Articles

For Visitors

DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1574885518666230726123433	Print ISSN 1574-8855
Publisher Name Bentham Science Publisher	Online ISSN 2212-3903

Current Drug Therapy

Nanobots: Revolutionising the Next Generation of Biomedical Technology and Drug Therapy

Abstract Play Pause

Graphical Abstract

Abstract