What Are Nanorobots

Written by Amir Marashi

UTS MBA Candidate

CEO, Elite Sports and Business Solutions

What Are Nanorobots?

Nanorobots are super tiny machines—so small that you cannot see them, even with a normal microscope.

They are usually 1–100 nanometers (one-billionth of a meter) according to the NIH National Nanotechnology Initiative (2025).

Nanorobots do not look like human robots.

They are basically smartly arranged molecules, shaped to do small jobs inside the body or the environment (Nature Nanotechnology, 2023).

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🧬 How Are Nanorobots Made?

Scientists build nanorobots from molecules, because they are too small for motors or wires.

Here are the main types:

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🔹 1. DNA Nanobots

Scientists fold DNA into tiny shapes (like origami).

These shapes can open only when they touch a cancer cell.

This method is called DNA Origami (Science, Rothemund 2006) and is used in many modern cancer-targeting nanobots (Nature Biotechnology, 2023).

Example:

Arizona State University created a DNA nanobot that opens ONLY on cancer cells and releases medicine (Douglas et al., Science 2012).

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🔹 2. Metal Nanobots (Iron, Gold, Nickel)

Made from clusters of metal atoms.

Doctors can move them with external magnets.

Real example:

ETH Zurich made magnetic nanobots that break tiny blood clots (Nature Communications, 2023).

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🔹 3. Polymer Nanobots (Soft Materials)

Made from medical polymers that move when they feel light, heat, or chemicals.

Example:

Max Planck Institute built polymer nanobots that “swim” through water and clean pollution (ACS Nano, 2024).

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🔹 4. Bio-Hybrid Nanobots (Living Cells + Tiny Parts)

Scientists attach tiny tools to bacteria or sperm cells, which already know how to swim.

Example:

Spanish researchers guided sperm-cell nanobots with magnets to deliver drugs (ACS Nano, 2016).

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🔹 5. Nano-3D Printed Robots

Printed from silica, polymer, or metal oxide molecules using nano-lithography.

Example:

Researchers printed tiny spiral robots that move like drills in liquid (Advanced Materials, 2024).

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🎮 How Do Nanorobots Follow Instructions?

Nanorobots do NOT have computers or brains.

They follow signals:

Magnets → metal bots move

Light → polymer bots open or close

Heat → shape changes

Chemicals → DNA bots open near cancer (Nature Nanotechnology, 2023)

Cell movement → bio-bots swim naturally

They behave like tiny tools, not tiny humans.

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⚕️ Medical Uses (Real Research)

Nanorobots are being studied to:

✔ Deliver medicine only to cancer cells

(DNA nanobots, Nature Reviews Cancer, 2022)

✔ Break tiny blood clots

(Magnetic nanobots, Nature Communications, 2023)

✔ Detect diseases early

(Nano-sensors, ACS Nano, 2024)

✔ Clean infections in hard-to-reach places

(Micro-robots, Science Robotics, 2024)

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🌍 Environmental Uses

✔ Clean polluted water

(Max Planck polymer nanobots, ACS Nano, 2024)

✔ Remove microplastics

(Chemical Engineering Journal, 2024)

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🪖 Military / Army Use? (FACT CHECK)

❌ No army in the world has nanorobot weapons.

DARPA only funds concept studies, not real nanobots

(DARPA Microsystems Report, 2024).

Possible future ideas (NOT real):

cleaning wounds

detecting toxins

fast medicine delivery

There are no operational military nanobots today.

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Do Nanorobots Exist Today?

✔ Yes — in laboratories

Many working prototypes exist (Nature, Science, ACS, ETH Zurich).

✔ Yes — in animal tests

Mice, fish, and cell tests show promising results.

❌ No — not in everyday hospitals

Human treatment is expected within 5–10 years after safety approval.

✔ Yes — rapid progress every year

Hundreds of papers published in 2023–2025 alone.

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Summary

Nanorobots are tiny machines made from molecules.

They don’t have motors or chips — they move using magnets, light, heat, or chemicals.

They can target cancer, clean blood clots, detect diseases, and purify water.

They exist in labs and animal studies, but not yet in real hospital treatment.

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REFERENCES

Nanotechnology Basics:

1. National Nanotechnology Initiative (NIH NNI), 2025.

2. Nature Nanotechnology, “Nanomedicine Advances,” 2023.

DNA Origami:

3. Rothemund, P.W. “Folding DNA to Create Nanoscale Shapes,” Science, 2006.

4. Douglas et al., “DNA Nanorobot for Cancer Therapy,” Science, 2012.

5. Nature Biotechnology, DNA-origami cancer systems, 2023.

Magnetic Nanobots:

6. Nelson et al., “Magnetically Controlled Micro/Nanorobots,” Nature Communications, 2023.

7. ETH Zurich Nanorobotics Lab Reports, 2024.

Polymer Nanobots:

8. Max Planck Institute, polymer swimmer bots, ACS Nano, 2024.

Bio-Hybrid Bots:

9. Magdanz et al., sperm-based nanobots, ACS Nano, 2016.

Nano-3D Printing:

10. “3D-Printed Nano-Helical Robots,” Advanced Materials, 2024.

Medical Uses:

11. “Nanobots for Cancer Therapy,” Nature Reviews Cancer, 2022.

12. “Nanorobot Drug Delivery,” Science Robotics, 2024.

13. “Nano-sensors for Disease Detection,” ACS Nano, 2024.

Environmental Uses:

14. “Nanorobots for Water Purification,” Chemical Engineering Journal, 2024.

15. “Pollution-Breaking Polymer Nanobots,” ACS Nano, 2023–2024.

Military / Security:

16. DARPA Microsystems Technology Office Report, 2024 (concept studies, no real nanobots).