Magnetically driven gear-like MOFbots generated localized mechanical stresses averaging 1.5 kPa via microvilli entanglement, a 15-fold increase compared to stationary controls.
Does a magnetically driven MOFbot enable targeted mechanical manipulation and transmembrane delivery in single cells?
The development of magnetically driven MOFbots enables precise mechanical manipulation of single-cell microvilli, facilitating targeted intracellular delivery and advancing mechanotransduction research.
Absolute Event Rate: 1.5% vs 0.1%
p-value: p=<0.01
Cellular mechanotransduction, mediated by specialized structures such as microvilli, regulates processes ranging from tissue homeostasis to disease progression. Existing tools for microvilli-specific biomechanical intervention suffer from limited spatiotemporal precision and non-physiological constraints, restricting mechanistic studies and targeted therapies. Here, we develop a magnetically driven gear-like metal-organic framework microrobot (MOFbot) for programmable mechanical manipulation of single-cell microvilli. MOFbots are fabricated through epitaxial growth of heterogeneous MOF structures followed by deposition of Ni/Au nanofilms. Under a rotating magnetic field, they perform rolling and obstacle negotiation. Their rotating gear structure entangles microvilli, exerting quantified pulling forces via Förster resonance energy transfer and traction force microscopy. This mechanical stimulation triggers intracellular calcium influx and enhanced focal adhesion kinase phosphorylation, indicating mechanotransduction pathway activation. Consequently, rotating MOFbots increase membrane permeability, enabling on-demand transmembrane delivery of therapeutics into targeted single cells. This work establishes a targeted cellular mechanomodulation strategy and informs future micro/nanorobotic biomedical designs.
Liu et al. (Thu,) conducted a other in In vitro cellular mechanotransduction. Magnetic gear-like MOF microrobots (MOFbots) vs. Stationary MOFbots was evaluated on Traction stress on cells (kPa) (p=<0.01). Magnetically driven gear-like MOFbots generated localized mechanical stresses averaging 1.5 kPa via microvilli entanglement, a 15-fold increase compared to stationary controls.