Scientists Build Tiny Robots That Can Inspect, Manipulate Your Cells

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Revolutionary Micro-Robots Scan Cells for Health and Disease

A team of researchers at Tel Aviv University in Israel has developed tiny micro-robots capable of scanning individual cells to determine whether they are healthy or under stress. These miniature cell inspectors, measuring just ten microns across, can also transport selected cells to new locations using electric fields or magnets for subsequent genetic analysis. The innovation holds strong promise as a tool for disease diagnosis and targeted drug delivery.

Inspired by Nature’s Micro-Swimmers

The design draws directly from the natural propulsion methods of bacteria and sperm cells. As detailed in a study published in 2026 in the journal Advanced Science, the micro-robots combine hybrid electric and magnetic navigation systems. “Developing the micro-robot’s ability to move autonomously was inspired by biological micro-swimmers like bacteria and sperm cells,” said Gilad Yossifon, professor of biomedical engineering at Tel Aviv University and lead author of the paper. “This is an innovative area of research that is developing rapidly, with a wide variety of uses in medicine, environmental monitoring, and as a research tool.”

Precise Cell Capture Without Labeling

In laboratory tests, the micro-robots successfully distinguished between healthy and dying cells and captured individual blood cells as well as cancer cells. Because the robots can identify and isolate a single cell without any fluorescent tagging, they open new possibilities for rapid, on-site testing or for retrieving cells for analysis with external instruments.

“Our new development significantly advances the technology in two main aspects — hybrid propulsion and navigation by electric and magnetic mechanisms that are very different,” Yossifon noted. “In addition, the micro-robot has an improved ability to identify and capture a single cell — without the need for tagging — for local testing or retrieval and transport to an external instrument.”

Future Applications Inside the Body

The research team is now working on versions of the micro-robots designed to operate inside living organisms. Potential uses include serving as precisely guided drug carriers that can deliver medication directly to diseased tissue.

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