Microrobots of metal and plastic

机器人这么小的，他们可以通过我们的方式操纵血管并提供药物对于身体的某些积分 - 研究人员多年来一直在追求这一目标。现在，Eth苏黎世的科学家首次成功地建造了如金属和塑料的“微机械”，其中这两种材料与链中的链接一样紧密地互锁。这是由于他们设计的新制造技术，这是可能的。

“Metals and polymers have different properties, and both materials offer certain advantages in buildingmicromachines。我们的目标是通过组合这两项，“CarlosAlcântara”解释说，萨尔瓦多·帕诺（SalvadorPané）在机器人学和智能系统研究所和纸张的两个引导作者中的一个博士学位。通常，微机芯使用磁场从身体外部供电，这意味着它们必须安装磁性金属部件。相反，聚合物具有可用于构建软，柔性部件以及溶解在体内的部件的优点。如果在这种可溶性聚合物中嵌入药物，则可以选择性地将活性物质供给体内的某些点。

高科技生产方法

上面所示的双组分微伏图谱的微观图像。

资料来源：照片：Alcântara等。自然通信2020.

Underpinning the new manufacturing method is the expertise of ETH Professor Salvador Pané. For years, he has been working with a high-precision新利18官方在微型水平上产生复杂对象的技术，一种称为3D的技术光刻。Eth科学家们应用这种方法以生产一种模具或模板的微血。这些模板具有窄的凹槽，用作“负”并且可以填充所选择的材料。

利用电化学沉积,科学家fill some of the grooves with metal and others with polymers before ultimately dissolving the template away with solvents. “Our interdisciplinary group consists of electrical engineers, mechanical engineers, chemists, and materials scientists who all work closely together. That was the key to developing this method,” says Fabian Landers, a doctoral student in Pané’s group.

带微小的磁轮的车辆

Microscopic images of further examples of two-component micromachines.

资料来源：照片：Alcântara等。自然通信2020.

As a proof of principle for making micromachines by interlockingmaterials, the ETH scientists created various miniscule vehicles with plastic chassis and magnetic metal wheels powered by means of a rotating magnetic field. Some of the vehicles can be propelled across a glass surface, while others – depending on the polymer used – can float in liquid or on a liquid surface.

The scientists are now planning to refine their two-component micromachines and experiment with other materials. In addition, they will attempt to create more complex shapes and machines, including some that can fold and unfold themselves. Besides serving as “ferries” that distribute active substances, future applications of micromachines include treating aneurysms (bulges in blood vessels) or performing other surgical procedures. Another research goal is to make stents (tube‑shaped vessel supports) that unfold themselves and can be positioned at a specific place in the body using magnetic fields.

该研究发表于自然通信。