Chemical robotics — chemotactic drug carriers

Abstract

Abstract In this review we show and describe a concept of designing autonomously moving artificial cells (chemical robots) carrying drugs and having tactic behavior based on artificial chemotaxis. Such systems could help to provide new and more efficient drug delivery applications. Chemical robot can be constructed based on the self-organization — natural “bottom-up” way — of fatty acid or lipid molecules into ordered nano- or micrometer size objects that have the ability to move and respond to environmental stimuli. The idea of using tactic carriers in drug delivery applications can be justified by the fact that cancer sites in the living body have different physiological characters (lower pH and higher resting temperature) compared to normal cells. The proposed “bottom-up” design method for self-propelled objects at small scales for targeted drug delivery applications could realize the original designation of nanoscience proposed 50 years ago by Richard Feynman.