Algae-Based Microrobots Deliver Antibiotics within Lungs

Researchers at the University of California San Diego have developed a microrobot system to treat bacterial pneumonia. The microrobots consist of living algal cells that can swim very effectively in biological fluids, allowing them to navigate throughout the lungs and deliver drugs to difficult-to-reach areas. The algal cells are studded with antibiotic-loaded polymer spheres that are coated with cell membranes from neutrophils, which help them to neutralize inflammatory molecules that are released by bacteria in the lungs...