The precise treatment of glioblastoma is expected to usher in a new weapon. Reporters learned from the Shenyang Institute of Automation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences on the 15th that the scientific research team of the robotics laboratory of the institute, together with Shengjing Hospital affiliated to China Medical University, has successfully developed a diatom micro robot for the treatment of brain glioma. The relevant research results were published online in the international academic journal "Biodesign and Manufacturing". Gliomas have always been recognized as a challenge in the medical community due to their complex lesion areas and difficulty in drug delivery. The team has pioneered the use of natural single celled organisms - diatoms - as the structural matrix for robots. Diatom shells have a natural porous silica structure and are hard and transparent, making them a natural container for drug loading and targeted delivery. This micro robot does not require exogenous drug loading and can to some extent avoid the risk of drug leakage in targeted delivery, reducing damage to normal tissues and cells. ”Jiao Niandong, researcher of Shenyang Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, introduced. Through artificial intelligence algorithms, researchers have endowed diatom robots with autonomous closed-loop motion capabilities. Under the precise control of an external magnetic field, these micrometer sized robots are able to traverse narrow tissue gaps and move precisely along predetermined trajectories to the glioma lesion area. Unlike traditional robots that require additional modification of complex chemical drugs, this technology directly preserves and utilizes endogenous chlorophyll in diatom cells as photosensitizers. After the robot reaches the lesion, it activates chlorophyll through laser to produce photodynamic effect, achieving precise killing of cancer cells. The results of animal experiments showed that the laser activated diatom robot had a significant killing effect on primary glioma cells, with a survival rate of 19.5% and no significant systemic toxicity, indicating good biocompatibility. Jiao Niandong stated that in the future, this achievement is expected to be combined with intraoperative navigation, long-distance delivery in vivo, and other technologies to further enhance targeting and efficacy, providing a new automated solution for the clinical treatment of glioblastoma. (New Society)