Glucose-Powered Ultrasmall Chemotactic Nanorobots for Retinal Degeneration Treatment.

ABSTRACT: Retinal degeneration poses a growing global health challenge with limited effective treatments. Current options, such as intravitreal injections of therapeutic drugs, are severely constrained by the vitreous humor barrier, a dense, gel-like matrix that limits drug diffusion to the retina. Micro/nanorobots with active propulsion have emerged as promising platforms for targeted drug delivery to overcome biological barriers. Here, we report the design of chemotactic nanorobots that can actively overcome the vitreous humor to target the retina. Single-atom engineering is utilized to construct ultrasmall nanorobots that catalytically convert endogenous glucose into mechanical propulsion, enabling active navigation through the vitreous barrier toward retinal tissues. Both ex vivo tissue and in v

SUBMITTER: Ju X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12714100 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature