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New solutions for people's health, the European Research Council funds with an ERC Proof of Concept the SOFTINVADERS project for the development of microrobots for tumor prenetration

The project, coordinated by Stefano Palagi, associate professor at the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna in Pisa, explores possible applications of the technology developed in the ERC CELLOIDS project in the field of cancer treatment
Publication date: 23.01.2025
Stefano Palagi
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The European Research Council is funding with an ERC Proof of Concept the SOFTINVADERS project coordinated by Stefano Palagi, associate professor of bioengineering at the BioRobotics Institute at the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa. The project aims to develop a new technology starting from the results of the ERC CELLOIDS project, in which ultrasoft microrobots can move in very confined spaces. In particular, thanks to the new funding, Palagi and his research team will study how microrobots can penetrate tumour tissue to activate minimally invasive medical procedures.


Ultra-efficient microrobots: the new frontier of minimally invasive medicine

The ERC CELLOIDS project, which will end in 2026, has developed magnetic microrobots capable of moving in confined environments, simulating movement in body tissue. Taking inspiration from immune cells that move through body tissues, the microrobots can change their body shape and adapt to obstacles and, potentially, biological tissues. 
With the new SOFTINVADERS project, Palagi aims to explore the potential of these ultra-soft microrobots in anti-tumour applications, with the goal of making microrobots capable of penetrating into solid tumours. The research team will focus in particular on breast, pancreatic, lung or colon tumour models: thanks to their ability to adapt their body shape, the microrobots could reach inaccessible areas of our body, slipping even into the tiny interstices of biological tissues.

"In the CELLOIDS project - says Stefano Palagi - we are studying how to make microrobots capable of moving in environments with interstices smaller than those of the microrobots themselves, simulating movement in body tissue. We have recently demonstrated that ultrasoft microrobots, whose bodies adapt to the external environment, can move in neighbouring environments under the action of controlled magnetic fields. 
In SOFTINVADERS - continues Palagi - we will further develop these ultra-soft magnetic microrobots so that they can penetrate solid tumours. This could lead to an innovative system of localised delivery of anti-tumour therapies that would increase their efficacy and drastically reduce their side effects".