All ANGIE news
Clinically Ready Magnetic Microrobots for Targeted Therapies
Systemic drug administration often causes off-target effects limiting the efficacy of advanced therapies. Targeted drug delivery approaches increase local drug concentrations at the diseased site while minimizing systemic drug exposure. We present a magnetically guided microrobotic drug delivery system capable of precise navigation under physiological conditions. This platform integrates a clinical electromagnetic navigation system, a custom-designed release catheter, and a dissolvable capsule for accurate therapeutic delivery. In vitro tests showed precise navigation in human vasculature models, and in vivo experiments confirmed tracking under fluoroscopy and successful navigation in large animal models. The microrobot balances magnetic material concentration, contrast agent loading, and therapeutic drug capacity, enabling effective hosting of therapeutics despite the integration complexity of its components, offering a promising solution for precise targeted drug delivery.
Fabian C. Landers, Lukas Hertle, Vitaly Pustovalov, Derick Sivakumaran, Oliver Brinkmann, Kirstin Meiners, Pascal Theiler, Valentin Gantenbein, Andrea Veciana, Michael Mattmann, Silas Riss, Simone Gervasoni, Christophe Chautems, Hao Ye, Semih Sevim, Andreas D. Flouris, Josep Puigmartí-Luis, Tiago Sotto Mayor, Pedro Alves, Tessa Lühmann, Xiangzhong Chen, Nicole Ochsenbein, Ueli Moehrlen, Philipp Gruber, Miriam Weisskopf, Quentin Boehler, Salvador Pané, Bradley J. Nelson https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2501.11553
Read the full article here: https://zenodo.org/records/14718243
Prototypes for Humanity Award
Prototypes for Humanity represents an unparalleled assembly of innovations from around the world, showcasing groundbreaking solutions to global issues, across the fields of natural sciences, humanities, technology, and creative studies. Prototypes for Humanity, part of Dubai Future Solutions, presented 100 projects offering tangible ways to tackle key challenges facing societies. More than 2,700 entries were submitted from 800 universities around the world. Being selected to present in Dubai was a major milestone for our project. The event took place at the Dubai Emirates Towers, where Fabian Landers presented our research to a large audience of professionals and researchers from around the world. We are honored to have been recognized as one of this year’s Prototypes for Humanity Award winners!
See more about the award here

Emerging Social Issues on Targeted Drug Delivery
The world of targeted drug delivery represents an incredible leap forward in how we treat and manage diseases. It’s a frontier where science converges with hope, precision, and, in many ways, a reimagining of healthcare itself. As we move closer to realizing a future where therapies can target specific cells or tissues with minimal side effects, the excitement is tempered by a growing recognition of the technical, ethical, and societal challenges that come with this revolutionary shift in medical practice. Our Open Access book ” Emerging Social Issues on targeted Drug Delivery“, developed within the ANGIE project has now been published by Scientific Research Publishing.

The ANGIE Podcast ft Fabian Landers
In this last episode of the ANGIE podcast we are hostin Mr. Fabian Landers, mechanical engineer, early career researcher in the ANGIE project , and founder of Swiss Vascular, that discusses the progress and the outcomes of the project.
Targeted Drug Delivery: addressing sex differences in clinical environments
Why sex makes a difference in health research? Genetic differences between males and females significantly influence disease prevalence and treatment responses. Sex-specific data is needed to provide optimal and personalized care.
https://zenodo.org/records/14844783

The ANGIE Podcast ft Dr Giorgos Peikos
Our new podcast featuring Dr Giorgos Peikos from the Department of Primary Education of University of Western Macedonia is now live! We discuss about Nanoscience for everyone and how to bridge the gap between Education, Innovation, and Ethics.
The ANGIE Podcast ft Dr Vasiliki Petousi

Our new podcast featuring Dr Vasiliki Petousi is now live! Dr Vasiliki Petousi is a Professor of Sociology of Law and Deviance, from the Sociology Department of University of Crete and Director of the Gender lab. We discuss about Social issues of Targeted Drug Delivery and Inequalities in health.
MRS 2024 Fall Meeting on “Magnetics for Manipulation, Medicine, Manufacturing, and Much More!

The world’s foremost international scientific gathering for materials research, the MRS Fall Meeting showcases leading interdisciplinary research in both fundamental and applied areas presented by scientists around the world. MagnebotiX showcased how magnetics is revolutionizing fields from medicine to manufacturing and beyond, driving efficiency and enabling new possibilities.
A big thank you to everyone who joined us and shared their enthusiasm for these advancements!
NEC-TECH Debate: Addressing Myths and Advancing Nanomedicine Literacy
Dr. Someşan, alongside her team members Prof. Ion Copoeru and Professor-Researcher Simion Aştilian, participated in an online debate organized by New Europe College as part of the NEC-TECH Working Group on December 11, 2024. The focus of this debate was to critically examine the myths and preconceptions surrounding the use of nanotechnology in medicine. During the event, the team presented findings from their work on the familiarity, knowledge, and attitudes of Romanians towards wireless targeted drug delivery, a study conducted within the framework of the ANGIE project.
The research highlighted the importance of addressing public concerns and promoting informed understanding to ensure the responsible adoption of such advanced medical technologies. The discussion also emphasized the pressing need to improve literacy on nanomedicine across all levels of education.

International Conference on Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery
Dr. Andreea-Iulia Somesan presented her work within the ANGIE project in ICNDD-24, which was held on December 3–4, 2024, in Helsinki, Finland. Her presentation was focused on the ethical, societal, and technological dimensions of wireless-guided nanocarriers for targeted drug delivery. Her research received significant recognition from the conference participants, further underscoring its importance in addressing emerging challenges in the field of nanomedicine.

Stakeholder Meeting
ANGIE hosted its final Stakeholder meeting today,in Crete. After 4 years of successful collaboration and established partnerships with experts and organizations across Targeted Drug delivery field, the ANGIE consortium and stakeholders showcased the major outcomes of the project.

Shape-Morphing in Oxide Ceramic Kirigami Nanomembranes
Interfacial strain engineering in ferroic nanomembranes can broaden the scope of ferroic nanomembrane assembly as well as facilitate the engineering of multiferroic-based devices with enhanced functionalities. Geometrical engineering in these material systems enables the realization of 3-D architectures with unconventional physical properties. Here, 3-D multiferroic architectures are introduced by incorporating barium titanate (BaTiO3, BTO) and cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4, CFO) bilayer nanomembranes. Using photolithography and substrate etching techniques, complex 3-D microarchitectures including helices, arcs, and kirigami-inspired frames are developed. These 3-D architectures exhibit remarkable mechanical deformation capabilities, which can be attributed to the superelastic behavior of the membranes and geometric configurations. It is also demonstrated that dynamic shape reconfiguration of these nanomembrane architectures under electron beam exposure showcases their potential as electrically actuated microgrippers and for other micromechanical applications. This research highlights the versatility and promise of multi-dimensional ferroic nanomembrane architectures in the fields of micro actuation, soft robotics, and adaptive structures, paving the way for incorporating these architectures into stimulus-responsive materials and devices.
M. Kim, D. Kim, M. Mirjolet, N. A. Shepelin, T. Lippert, H. Choi, J. Puigmartí-Luis, B. J. Nelson, X.-Z. Chen, S. Pané, Shape-Morphing in Oxide Ceramic Kirigami Nanomembranes. Adv. Mater. 2024, 2404825. https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202404825
Read the full article here: https://zenodo.org/records/14013341
International Congress on Analytical Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, 3-6 September 2024 Santiago de Compostela

The main goal of this conference is to promote the development and the new knowledge on Analytical Chemistry concepts applied to Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. The congress is organized by the Trace Elements, Spectroscopy and Speciation Group, GETEE, and the Institute of Materials, iMATUS, at the University of Santiago de Compostela, with the collaboration of the Royal Spanish Society of Chemistry (RSEQ)- GrupoEspecializado en Ciencia y Tecnologías (Bio) Analíticas. A pre-congress short course on different aspects of the field will be developed in the morning of the 3rd of September.
Prof. Salvador Pané gave a plenary talk entitled “Magnetic micro- and nanorobots”. His talk explored various material-based concepts and innovative fabrication techniques to address translational challenges and further enhance the field of small-scale robotics.
Single-Step Synthesis of Sub-10 nm Magnetic Nanoparticles with High Saturation Magnetization and Broad pH Stability
Iron oxide nanoparticles hold great potential for future biomedical applications but, to date, usually suffer from reduced magnetic properties compared to their bulk counterparts. The replacement of Fe(III) ions with Zn(II) ions can enhance their magnetic properties while keeping their biocompatibility characteristics. Yet, common synthesis methods for these highly magnetic particles require using environmentally harmful solvents, multiple steps, and postfunctionalization, all while being affected by poor scalability and high polydispersity. To address these challenges, in this study, a single-step coprecipitation-based method is developed to fabricate gelatin-coated, zinc-substituted, sub-10 nm-sized iron oxide nanoparticles exhibiting high saturation magnetization. This single-step synthesis benefits from simplicity and robustness, capable of yielding large amounts of highly magnetic nanoparticles without the utilization of environmentally harmful or highly toxic reagents. Furthermore, in situ gelatin coating during the synthesis ensures particle stability in aqueous solutions over a wide range of pH and enhances cell compatibility. Systematic investigations show a direct correlation between the particles’ magnetization and the concentrations of Zn(II) and NaOH, where particles with a zinc-to-iron ratio of Zn:Fe = 0.18:2.82 reach a maximum saturation magnetization of 91.2 emu g−1. Thus, these particles are promising candidates for biomedical applications.
Pustovalov, V., Landers, F.C., Hertle, L., Ko, H., Llacer-Wintle, J., Ye, H., Veciana, A., Franco, C., Sanchis-Gual, R., Chen, X.-Z., Pellicer, E., Puigmartí-Luis, J., Nelson, B.J. and Pané, S. (2024), Single-Step Synthesis of Sub-10 nm Magnetic Nanoparticles with High Saturation Magnetization and Broad pH Stability. Adv. Eng. Mater., 26: 2400307. https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202310701
Read the full article here: https://zenodo.org/records/14039462
The Future of Medicine is Targeted
Targeted drug delivery can change the healthcare system, with huge benefits for society and the economy, plus a wave of new market opportunities!
https://zenodo.org/records/13735943
46th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, Orlando, Florida, USA, July 15-19, 2024
The 46th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, was held in Orlando, Florida, USA, July 15-19, 2024. As social determinants of health take on an ever-important role, the conference theme, “Technology and its promise for equity and access for well-health,” addresses the great potential impacts that engineers can provide to the whole of society. At this world’s largest international biomedical engineering conference, a broad array of scientific tracks will cover diverse topics of cutting-edge research and innovation in biomedical engineering, healthcare technology, in particular for women and children’s well-health, translational clinical research, technology transfer and entrepreneurship, and biomedical engineering education. In addition to the high-profile keynotes, the conference program will feature mini symposia, workshops, special sessions, oral and poster sessions, sessions for students and young professionals, sessions for clinicians and entrepreneurs, and exhibits from vendors and universities.
Prof. Salvador Pané gave a talk during the mini-symposium “Microrobotic Magnetic Technologies for Healthcare Applications”.
Microrobotic Magnetic Technologies for Healthcare Applications
Wednesday, July 17th | 8:30 – 10:00
Over the last two decades, microrobotic magnetic technologies have undergone impressive advances in the area of minimally invasive medicine. The use of magnetic fields has emerged as a compelling approach, enabling the wireless manipulation of magnetic devices, known as micro- and nanorobots, within the human body. Magnetic fields are attractive for their biocompatibility across a wide range of frequencies and magnitudes, as well as for their versatility in maneuvering objects. With a suitable design and specific magnetic inputs (i.e., gradients, rotating, or oscillating magnetic fields), magnetic tools can achieve different locomotion mechanisms. Magnetic technologies have also facilitated the activation of additional functionalities in magnetic micro- and nanorobots, such as magnetic hyperthermia for tissue cancer ablation, magnetoelectric stimulation of cells, enhanced diffusion of drugs and abrasion of tissues and blood clots. Our mini-symposium brings together leading experts to delve into various facets of this transformative field. Topics will span from advanced magnetic navigation systems to micro- and nanoscale tools designed for the transportation of therapeutic payloads, such as drugs and stem cells. We will also discuss the development of magnetically guided robotic catheters and endoscopes, as well as nanoscale actuators capable of wirelessly electrostimulating cell tissues. Particularly, we will explore how magnetic navigation systems can operate seamlessly in healthcare settings without requiring a complex infrastructure. The symposium will also discuss various designs for small magnetic robots, with an emphasis on biodegradability and biocompatibility, methods for tracking them inside the body, and strategies for efficiently controlling swarms of these devices. Additionally, we will show how advancements in materials can contribute to the development of dexterous robotic catheters that navigate through intricate blood vessels using magnetic navigation. The discussion will also touch on magnetic wearables and sensing technologies. Magnetic technologies go beyond the constraints of traditional methods, offering advancements in localized delivery, embolization, cell fertilization, and precise stimulation of difficult-to-reach damaged tissues. In this mini-symposium, we will uncover the potential of magnetic technologies and their pivotal role in shaping the future landscape of healthcare applications.
Organizers/Speakers: Salvador Pané{2}, Denys Makarov{3}, Brad Nelson{2}, Li Zhang{5}, Hongsoo Choi{1}, Mariana Medina Sanchez{4}
{1}Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology, Korea; {2}ETH Zürich, Switzerland; {3}Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Germany; {4}Leibniz-Institut für Festkörper- und Werkstoffforschung Dresden, Germany; {5}The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
24th IEEE International Conference on Nanotechnology, July 8-11, 2024, Gijón, Spain

Since founded in 2001, IEEE-NANO is the flagship conference series of the IEEE Nanotechnology Council (NTC). It promotes advanced research in nanoscience and nanotechnology. The 24th IEEE International Conference on Nanotechnology (IEEE-NANO 2024) was held from July 8-11, 2024, in Gijón, Spain. Professor Salvador Pane gave a plenary talk entitled “Magnetic Microrobots for Biomedical Applications”. This talk explored various material-based concepts and innovative fabrication techniques to address translational challenges and further enhance the field of small-scale robotics.
The ANGIE Podcast ft Dr Souhaila El Moukhtari

Our new podcast featuring Dr. Souhaila El Moukhtari is now live! Dr. El Moukhtari is the successor of the ANGIE PhD award and in this episode we discuss about “Nanomedicines for the Treatment of Pediatric Neuroblastoma” and her future plans on working in the field of Targeted Drug Delivery.
NanoSeries 2024, Lisbon, Portugal – June 19, 2024

The third annual NanoSeries conference took place at Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon, Portugal, from June 17-19, 2024. This year’s conference, themed “Driving Change Through Nanotechnology,” gathered top researchers, professionals, and thought leaders in nanotechnology to discuss the latest advancements in materials science, nanomedicine, energy solutions, and sustainable technology. Hosted with the support of the IST team, NanoSeries 2024 surpassed previous attendance records by securing 220 attendees from 29 countries, underscoring the event’s significance as a global platform for innovation. NanoSeries 2024 featured an impressive array of plenary speakers whose research spanned energy, healthcare, materials science. Professor Salvador Pane gave a plenary talk entitled “Magnetic Micro- and Nanorobots”
European Federation of Pharmaceutical Sciences Annual Meeting

This year the ANGIE project had the chance to be one of the sponsors of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Sciences Annual Meeting.
The purpose of this meeting is to bring together pharmacists and researchers engaged in the pharmaceutical sciences worldwide, facilitating the presentation and discussion of their findings. The event fosters the exchange of information and the establishment of collaboration on both regional and global level scales. Additionally, the conference offers a platform for scientists in academia, the pharmaceutical industry, regulatory bodies, and clinical pharmacy to discuss significant subjects in drug research, development, regulation and therapeutic use.
The EUFEPS meeting 2024 took place in Debrecen, Hungary, on 23rd-25th May, in collaboration with the Congressus Pharmaceuticus Hungaricus. The ANGIE project collaborated with the EUFEPS to distribute the informational material of the project that describes the purpose and actions of the project. The meeting was attended by more than 500 participants that received the flyers and had the chance to discuss the project actions with members of the project.


A Human-Scale Clinically Ready Electromagnetic Navigation System for Magnetically Responsive Biomaterials and Medical Devices
Magnetic navigation systems are used to precisely manipulate magnetically responsive materials enabling the realization of new minimally invasive procedures using magnetic medical devices. Their widespread applicability has been constrained by high infrastructure demands and costs. The study reports on a portable electromagnetic navigation system, the Navion, which is capable of generating a large magnetic field over a large workspace. The system is easy to install in hospital operating rooms and transportable through health care facilities, aiding in the widespread adoption of magnetically responsive medical devices. First, the design and implementation approach for the system are introduced and its performance is characterized. Next, in vitro navigation of different microrobot structures is demonstrated using magnetic field gradients and rotating magnetic fields. Spherical permanent magnets, electroplated cylindrical microrobots, microparticle swarms, and magnetic composite bacteria-inspired helical structures are investigated. The navigation of magnetic catheters is also demonstrated in two challenging endovascular tasks: 1) an angiography procedure and 2) deep navigation within the circle of Willis. Catheter navigation is demonstrated in a porcine model in vivo to perform an angiography under magnetic guidance.
S. Gervasoni, N. Pedrini, T. Rifai, C. Fischer, F. C. Landers, M. Mattmann, R. Dreyfus, S. Viviani, A. Veciana, E. Masina, B. Aktas, J. Puigmartí-Luis, C. Chautems, S. Pané, Q. Boehler, P. Gruber, B. J. Nelson, A Human-Scale Clinically Ready Electromagnetic Navigation System for Magnetically Responsive Biomaterials and Medical Devices. Adv. Mater. 2024, 2310701 https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202310701
Read the full article here: https://zenodo.org/records/11501579
Nanomotors International Conference, June 2-5, 2024 in Barcelona

The Nanomotors International Conference: 20th Anniversary took place in Barcelona, Spain from 2–5 June 2024. This event gathered high-profile plenary and invited speakers and world-class researchers specializing in nanomotors to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first publications in the field. The conference featured invited talks, breakout sessions, and posters exploring leading-edge designs and applications of nanomotors. This year’s meeting focused on biomedical applications and collective behavior of self-propelled nanomotors, from both experimental and theoretical perspectives. Professor Salvador Pane was an invited speaker and gave a presentation on “Materials for Magnetic Small-Scale Robotics”.
Patient-specific placental vessel segmentation with limited data
A major obstacle in applying machine learning for medical fields is the disparity between the data distribution of the training images and the data encountered in clinics. This phenomenon can be explained by inconsistent acquisition techniques and large variations across the patient spectrum. The result is poor translation of the trained models to the clinic, which limits their implementation in medical practice. Patient-specific trained networks could provide a potential solution. Although patient-specific approaches are usually infeasible because of the expenses associated with on-the-fly labeling, the use of generative adversarial networks enables this approach. This study proposes a patient-specific approach based on generative adversarial networks. In the presented training pipeline, the user trains a patient-specific segmentation network with extremely limited data which is supplemented with artificial samples generated by generative adversarial models. This approach is demonstrated in endoscopic video data captured during fetoscopic laser coagulation, a procedure used for treating twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome by ablating the placental blood vessels. Compared to a standard deep learning segmentation approach, the pipeline was able to achieve an intersection over union score of 0.60 using only 20 annotated images compared to 100 images using a standard approach. Furthermore, training with 20 annotated images without the use of the pipeline achieves an intersection over union score of 0.30, which, therefore, corresponds to a 100% increase in performance when incorporating the pipeline. A pipeline using GANs was used to generate artificial data which supplements the real data, this allows patient-specific training of a segmentation network. We show that artificial images generated using GANs significantly improve performance in vessel segmentation and that training patient-specific models can be a viable solution to bring automated vessel segmentation to the clinic.
Sarwin, G., Lussi, J., Gervasoni, S. et al. Patient-specific placental vessel segmentation with limited data. J Robotic Surg 18, 237 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11701-024-01981-z
Read the full article here: https://zenodo.org/records/15043820
ANGIE PhD Award Winner

We are pleased to announce that the recipient of the ANGIE PhD Award is Dr. Souhaila El Moukhtari for her dissertation “Nanomedicines for the Treatment of Pediatric Neuroblastoma”. The impact of her research work on the scientific community has been substantial, evidenced by its dissemination through various channels, particularly in the field of nanomedicine for pediatric cancer.
Spring Meeting of the European Materials Research Society, Strasbourg, May 27 to 31, 2024

The conference featured parallel symposia with invited speakers, oral and poster presentations assorted by a plenary session to provide an international forum for discussing recent advances in the field of materials science. The meeting was also augmented by an exhibition of products and services of interest to the conference participants. Professor Salvador Pane gave a presentation entitled “Flexible Magnetoelectric Ceramic Nanoarchitectures for Advanced Small-Scale Robotics and Nanoelectromechanical Systems”.