Nanorobotics in Disease Treatment: The Future of Medicine Is Tiny
I’m pretty healthy, so there are only a few times a year that I see a doctor of any kind, and they draw blood samples to run tests against for certain things. But several years ago, on my way home from work, I started feeling a little uncomfortable in my upper abdomen. The feeling slowly intensified, and I stopped at a rest stop at the state line to see if getting out and walking around would alleviate the discomfort. It didn’t. The discomfort grew into pain, into a squeezing feeling right behind the base of my sternum. I thought I might be having a heart attack, even though I hadn’t had any heart troubles before. I called my husband and then I called 9-1-1, and eventually my husband and I were on the way to the hospital, where the diagnosis was acid reflux. I was pretty sure that wasn’t right, because I hardly ever had even moderate heartburn. I got a prescription for something that was supposed to help, and I was released. About two weeks later, we were vacationing at a lake house in Guntersville, and the same feeling woke me up in the night. I took some of the medicine prescribed from the previous incident, and when the feeling got worse, we were back in the emergency room, where the diagnosis was, again, acid reflux. I was fine for the rest of the trip, but when we got back home, I made an appointment with a gastroenterologist to get it taken care of. I was in so much pain in his office, he sent me over to the emergency room, where the ER doctor started asking if any of the previous doctors had asked anything about my gall bladder. Fortunately, this ER doctor zoomed in immediately on exactly the one thing that two other doctors had skipped over completely.
It’s no secret that doctors don’t have time, especially ER doctors, to dig deep into history, especially if it could be a question of a heart attack. It’s also important to remember that when we present in an ER with a set of symptoms, the most obvious and the most responsible thing to do is to consider the most likely or the most common scenario. What have they seen most often in women my age? What is the most likely thing? So, I don’t blame the first to ER doctors for looking first to acid reflux – except that when I said I never have heartburn, they still stopped there. Over time I’ve wondered what might have provided better information that may have allowed the first doctor to come to a more accurate diagnosis. As I was mulling over topics for my deep dives, I wandered over to an article that may have assisted in a better outcome sooner for me: Nano robotics.
Not only for my own situations, but imagine a future where doctors no longer rely on pills, injections, or invasive surgeries to treat diseases. Instead, they can deploy armies of microscopic robots—so small they’re invisible to the naked eye—directly into your bloodstream. These tiny machines can target cancer cells with pinpoint accuracy, repair damaged tissues, and even fight off infections, all from within your body. This isn’t science fiction; it’s the rapidly advancing world of nanorobotics in medicine, and it’s fascinating.
WHAT ARE NANOROBOTS?
Nanorobotics is an interdisciplinary field that combines principles from robotics, nanotechnology, and material science to develop robots at the nanoscale. These robots, called nanorobots, range in size from 0.1 to 10 micrometers, and some of the components have sizes on the scale of a nanometer – one billionth of a meter. For comparison, a human hair is about 80,000 to 100,00 nanometers wide, and one red blood cell is 7,000 to 8,000 nanometers in diameter. So, tiny. Beyond tiny. While nanorobots have the potential to revolutionize manufacturing, environmental cleanup and energy production, my focus today is the prospect of improving certain aspects of healthcare. While I will be speaking in present-tense when I describe the innovations, it’s important to remember that it’s still early days in the deployment of nanorobots. There’s promise, but there’s also a long way to go before they’re available everywhere they can make a difference.
HISTORY AND KEY MILESTONES
Physicist Richard Feynman got the science world thinking “smaller” in a lecture in 1959 – that’s right, 1959. The lecture was called “There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom,” and you can find a transcript of it here. It’s only seven pages and it’s actually enjoyable to read, with a mention of apples in connection with computing machines. (Could this have been why Jobs and Woz named their creation Apple? Something to explore.) Feynman took his participants on a mental journey of miniaturization, even going so far as to see the creation of a very small computer that could recognize the same face from various angles and with some changes, a computer which, in 1959, would be, as he said, “the size of the Pentagon.” I carry such a computer in the pocket of my jeans on a daily basis.
Little progress of significance emerged until 1981, when the Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM), invented by Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer, gave scientists access to individual atoms. At that point, science had a way not only to see the atoms, but to manipulate them.
In 1985, three scientists, Harold Kroto, Richard Smalley, and Robert Curl, discovered carbon molecules in the form of a hollow sphere, egg shape, or tube. They called these molecules “fullerenes” and opened a new gate in the exploration of nanomaterials.
Building on the concepts he found in Feynman’s lecture, Eric Drexler wrote Engines of Creation, which took the ideas even further. His book was published in 1986, and in that year, he founded the Foresight Institute, whose mission is the advancement of nanotechnology and other emerging technologies.
By the late 1990’s and into the early 2000’s, the field of nanorobotics started to come together, due to advances in both nanotechnology and robotics. It was during this period that researchers began developing the first prototypes of nanorobots for various uses. Starting in the 2000’s, research into medical applications of nanorobotics produced significant progress, with success in targeted drug delivery and minimally invasive surgery. We continue to see advances in nanorobotics today, with continuing research in environmental cleanup, manufacturing, and energy production.
HOW DO NANOROBOTS OPERATE WITHIN THE BODY?
Nanorobots navigate through the bloodstream and tissues, and they can be programmed to recognize specific disease markers, such as cancer cells or infected tissue. The nanorobots are equipped with sensors at a nanoscale, which facilitates detection of specific biochemical signals or environmental conditions, which allows them to pinpoint the exact location of the cells they’re targeting. Once they find that site, the nanorobots can release the therapeutic agents directly into the targeted cells. By using nanotechnology, these robots can maximize the drug’s effectiveness without harming the healthy cells. Some nanorobots are able to enter single cells and interact with the cell’s internal components, such as proteins and organelles. At this level, they can repair damaged DNA or deliver medicine directly to the nucleus of the cell itself. Nanorobots can use the body’s own heat, glucose metabolism, or external magnetic fields for energy sources.
TYPES OF NANOROBOTS AND THEIR FUNCTIONS
Diagnostic nanorobots
Diagnostic nanorobots can identify specific biomarkers, like proteins, cells, or bacterial toxins. They can precisely detect certain diseases at a very early stage. They can also provide real-time monitoring of physiological conditions, which provides continuous data on a patient’s health status. Their size allows for minimal invasiveness, which reduces the need for diagnostics like biopsies, and which improves patient comfort.
Therapeutic nanorobots
Therapeutic nanorobots can carry medicines directly to just the specific cells or tissues that need them. This can enhance the effectiveness of treatments, but it can also reduce the undesired side effects on healthy cells. Therapeutic nanos can also perform complex tasks like repairing tissue or removing blockages, and they can do it with minimal invasiveness, which can reduce recovery time and improve the overall outcome for the patient. Not only that, but they can also be used for extremely precise surgical procedures at the cellular level! That opens up possibilities for interventions that are not possible with traditional techniques.
Surgical nanorobots
As I mentioned above, surgical processes at the cellular – and even the molecular – level are now possible, and with minimal invasiveness. But they also provide the possibility of real-time feedback and adjustment during the procedures, due to the advanced sensors they carry, and also due to being controlled by external signals.
HOW DO NANOROBOTS MOVE THROUGHOUT THE BODY?
To propel through the body, nanorobots may use chemical reactions, external magnetic fields, or chimcal reactions within the natural fluids in the body. Ultrasound waves are another method, and this works particularly well for moving through soft tissues, and they can also be used for imaging and tracking. Light fields work for controlling nanorobots, especially in transparent or semi-transparent tissues, and certain functions can be activated or deactivated using light as well. For precise control, operators may use electric fields, and these fields may work in coordination with other methods for more enhanced precision navigation.
APPLICATIONS IN TREATMENT DISEASE
Cancer is one disease that can be treated much more effectively with nanorobots. Targeted drug delivery can deliver chemotherapy drugs only to the cancer cells, leaving the healthy cells alone, and reducing the unpleasant side effects that often accompany chemotherapy treatment. Nanosensors can allow the nanorobots to detect cancerous cells by identifying the biomarkers that distinguish them. Removing cancerous tissues and repairing damaged cells at the cellular level will improve patient experience and recovery.
Cardiovascular diseases are another beneficiary of nanorobotic treatment. Nanorobots can navigate through the bloodstream using external magnetic fields or ultrasound and reach and target specific blockages with precision. They can also break down arterial plaques by drilling through them or delivering chemicals that will dissolve the blockages, restoring normal blood flow. Clot-dissolving drugs can reach the site of the blockage directly, again enhancing the effectiveness and reducing side effects.
Nanorobots can deliver growth factors, stem cells, and other healing agents directly to the site of tissue damage, promoting faster and better healing. They can perform precise repairs at the cellular level, like stitching torn tissues or repairing damaged cells, all with minimal invasiveness.
Nanorobots can help us make huge strides in fighting infectious diseases. Targeting and destroying pathogens, such as bacteria and viruses, is one method. The pathogens contain a biomarker just like the cancer cells do, and nanorobots can be programmed to recognize those and destroy them. Nanorobots can also be coted with antimicrobial substances that can neutralize pathogens as they come into contact with them, and they can deliver immune-boosting agents to the sites of infection, helping the body fight off pathogens more effectively.
Carrying immunity enhancement further, nanorobots can carry molecules that stimulate the immune system, and they can deliver immunomodulatory agents (agents that modulate the immune system) directly to certain sites, like lymph nodes, to beef up the local response to infections. Vaccine delivery can be much improved as well, by ensuring that the immune system is exposed to antigens in a controlled and sustained manner.
One of the most revolutionary developments in nanorobotic is the precision it will afford caregivers in treating brain-related conditions. Nanorobots can move through the blood-brain barrier, which is a huge challenge in treating brain disorders. Once again, the therapeutic agents can be delivered to a specific affected area. Targeted drug delivery can provide a more successful outcome for patients with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Real-time activity monitoring and cellular-level repairs, such as fixing damaging neurons or removing plaques complement the drug delivery activities.
CHALLENGES AND LIMITATIONS
While we speak of these innovations as though they’re all accessible to everyone, unfortunately, that’s not the case. There are three key technical challenges in the manufacturing and control of nanorobots. Obviously, the one we think of first is the difficulty of manufacturing at nanoscale. It requires highly accurate fabrication techniques, and those are really complex and expensive. Doing it onesy-twosy is one thing, but producing thousands of them is quite another. Power supply and propulsion is the second obstacle. Traditional power sources are too big for nanorobots, and chemical reactions and external magnetic fields are not quite where they need to be. The third challenge is control and communication. It’s actually difficult to do that due to their tiny size and the complex environments they’ll be working in (our bodies, primarily). Getting to a point where the communications are reliable and robust has proven extremely demanding.
That’s just the manufacturing and control aspects. There are also concerns with biocompatibility and the potential for toxicity inside the body. So, the material they use has to be selected carefully to avoid materials that can provoke immune responses or cause toxicity. Researchers also need to ensure that nanorobots can be safely degraded and cleared from the body, or we’re once again looking at toxicity, and possibly other health issues as well. The design has be worked so that the immune system isn’t triggered and cause inflammation. Researchers have to consider size, shape, and surface properties in the attempt to minimize immune recognition.
And, of course, there will be ethical and regulatory considerations. The nanorobots have to be safe, and that will call for rigorous testing for biocompatibility and any potential long-term effects, as well as establishing protocols that will help prevent adverse reactions. The usual concerns arise as well around patient privacy and consent, and regulatory frameworks will be required that will govern the manufacturing, quality control, and clinical trials before mass production can be considered.
YOUR TURN
I think it’s obvious that nanorobotics could provide a lot of benefit for the specific cases they’re designed to address. But even as I was researching this, as encouraged as I was about delivering chemotherapy drugs to a cancer cell, I was also thinking, how will the body know not to attack it? Clearly, there’s still a lot of work to do on it, but having friends and loved ones who have triumphed over and succumbed to both cancer and cardiovascular disease, I’m hopeful for the prospects. Our scientists know too much not to overcome the challenges that remain.
What do you think? Is this an idea whose time has come, or do the risks outweigh the benefits? Have you heard of someone who has been able to get into a clinical trial? Are there any clinicals going on yet? Drop a comment below and let me know! And if you want to know more, check out these sources:
Nanorobotics: Theory, Applications, How Does It Work? | Built In
Rise of the Nanorobots – IEEE Pulse (embs.org)
Nanorobotics: what it is, what it can do, and how it can become reality (zmescience.com)
These tiny robots could be disease-fighting machines inside the body (nbcnews.com)
The Voyage of Micro/nanorobots inside the Human Body (wiley.com)
Self-propelling nanorobots ferry drugs to cancer cells (nature.com)
These tiny robots can kill cancer cells | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)
Dissolving Blood Clots using Nanobots (arxiv.org)
Nanorobots could target cancers and clear blood clots (phys.org)
Tiny Robots Can Clear Clogged Arteries | Smithsonian (smithsonianmag.com)
Tiny robots made from human cells heal damaged tissue (nature.com)
Nanotech to the rescue: Healing patients with tiny tech | Electronics360 (globalspec.com)
Repurposing immune therapies for infectious diseases (nature.com)
How nanotechnology can flick the immunity switch (nature.com)
Nanobots can now enter brain cells to spy on what they’re doing (snexplores.org) Micro- and nanorobots for biomedical applications in the brain | Nature Reviews Bioengineering
Innovating Nanoethics | Journal of Ethics | American Medical Association (ama-assn.org)
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Playlist for this writing session: Poker – Electric Light Orchestra; Games People Play – Alan Parsons Project; Have a Little Faith In Me – John Hiatt; Time and Tide – Basia; Red Dress – Maia Sharp; Sixteen – No Doubt; Do You Wanna Dance? – The Beach Boys; After the Flood – Lone Justice; All of My Heart – ABC; Zombie Woof – Frank Zappa; Sweeter Than Honey – Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes; Night Rider – Electric Light Orchestra; Free Fallin’ – Tom Petty; Kind and Generous – Natalie Merchant; Waterloo – ABBA; Zeroes – Spacehog; You Only Get What You Give – New Radicals; Lido Shuffle – Boz Scaggs; King Without a Crown – ABC; Stand Alone – Telluride; Good Timin’ – The Beach Boys; You Can Have Me Anytime – Boz Scaggs; Kashmir – Led Zeppelin; Billy the Squid – Tom Chapin; Oliver’s Army – Elvis Costello; Peace and Tranquility – ABC; Home – Marc Broussard; Runnin Down a Dream – Tom Petty; Talk to Me – Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes; This Time Baby’s Gone for Good – Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes; Rush – Liz Longley