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Microrobots made from algae cells have been created and used to treat the most common form of pneumonia that infects patients in ICU.

In experiments carried out at the University of California San Diego, the tiny robots have been able to swim around the lungs of mice and deliver antibiotics to kill the disease-causing bacteria. The amount of antibiotics needed is a tiny fraction of the amount currently used to treat this infection intravenously.

These nanoparticles are made with tiny spheres coated with the cell membranes of neutrophils – a type of white blood cell that fights infection and inflammation - making them more effective at fighting infection.

Lead author of the study Professor Joseph Wang explains how the new tech works.

(Photo: Illustration of microrobots entering the lungs to treat pneumonia. Credit: Wang lab/UC San Diego)