The second half of 2019 is a key stage for Zheng Zhiqiang to carry out experimental verification, as well as an important period for publishing papers and data sorting。However, the sudden outbreak of COVID-19 disrupted the established rhythm, and the experiment was forced to pause at the most critical moment。Through the online communication platform established by the school, he had close communication with overseas tutors and discussed experimental plans together。In the continuous discussion and communication, Zheng Zhiqiang thought of the current experimental results, the new microrobot constructed by a single material of hydrogel, because the material has complete biodegradability, so it can solve the problem that the microrobot is difficult to recycle in the living closed experimental environment。

Hard work pays off to those who wait。In January 2021, Zheng Zhiqiang successfully developed an intelligent deformable single-layer thin film microrobot with environmental ion response capability, and the relevant results were published in Nature Communications。This achievement proposed for the first time that a single biodegradable biomaterial was used to achieve self-deformation of microrobots under environmental perception, effectively solving the difficult problem of integrated operations such as non-invasive sampling, transportation, delivery and recovery of microrobots in living closed environments such as human bodies, which is of great significance for the precision medicine of major diseases such as cancer。

Keep trying to complete new breakthroughs in regenerative medicine

The electromagnetic control system developed by Zheng Zhiqiang and his team members

"Promote the landing and transformation of scientific research achievements, and let scientific research play a greater role.。Partial liver transplantation and whole liver transplantation are important means to treat many malignant and acute liver diseases, but the shortage of liver donors and the huge demand for treatment are long-term contradictions that are difficult to solve。The functional and structural bionics of artificial liver tissue by microrobots have long been regarded as a difficult problem in the industry，After a lot of literature research and experimental attempts，And in the research group Shi Qing, Wang Huaping teacher overall planning and guidance，Zheng Zhiqiang actively cooperated with 304 Hospital and Jishuitan Hospital，Around the problem of functional and structural bionics of artificial liver tissue，A multi-robot cross-domain collaboration and hydrodynamic interactive biological manipulation method is proposed，The artificial liver lobular micromodule was used as the assembly object，The automatic three-dimensional integrated assembly and biological function expression of liver tissue were realized，Breakthroughs in bionic artificial liver tissue robot large-scale integration and assembly technology。This technology can efficiently process and assemble bionic artificial liver tissue, which provides a large number of renewable material basis for liver transplantation and repair。

Zheng also uses the artificial liver tissue constructed by microrobots as a biological model for testing new drugs for liver function diseases and for pathological research，At the same time, the toxicity of the drug was evaluated on the rat model，After verification，The two have a high degree of biological function matching，This means that the biomimetic liver lobular tissue made by robotized organisms is expected to replace animals as a new biological model。At present, the relevant technical achievements have been applied and promoted in a number of biological companies。The research results have also won 3 international academic awards, forming a patent group including 2 international invention patents and 3 national invention patents。Zheng Zhiqiang's graduation thesis was awarded the school-level excellent graduation thesis, and he was awarded the outstanding graduate of Beijing。

Do not forget the original heart, inherit the red gene of Beitech

Zheng Zhiqiang (second row, fourth from right) with classmates in the lab

"I am a" novice "in the field of micro and nano, although there are many uncertainties in the future, I firmly believe that I will always go on.。He majored in bioengineering at Hebei University of Technology，Master degree in biomaterials Science from the University of Nottingham, UK，Zheng Zhiqiang has a multidisciplinary academic background after graduating from the master's degree，It is deeply attracted by the open, innovative, compatible and economical scientific research atmosphere of the School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering of Beitech and the strong faculty and advanced scientific research platform of the Robotics Institute，He resolutely chose to join the micro nano robot team of the School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering of Beijing Institute of Technology to continue scientific research，And be nourished here。

Supported by the international exchange platform of Beijing Institute of Technology，Zheng Zhiqiang and a number of foreign university research teams to carry out "ultra-high-speed cell assembly" project research，With high precision micro - and nano-operated robots and fast visual capture technology，The large-scale integrated assembly of heterogeneous/isomeric viscoelastic biological targets is realized，Significantly improve the adaptability of robotized biological micromanipulation to complex tasks。At the Soft-bodied Magnetic Small-scale Mobile Robots International Conference, Zheng Zhiqiang's results were presented by M, director of the Max Planck Institute for Physical Intelligence in Germany and the originator of magnetic-controlled microrobots. Full approval from Professor Sitti。He received a full scholarship from the Max Planck Institute to continue his research at the Max Planck Institute for Physical Intelligence in Germany。

"Mentality and belief are important, and I have moments of despair, but I know that what I want is not the success of an experiment or the publication of a paper。As a BEILI worker, I know that the road to scientific research has no end。With fire in my heart and light in my eyes, I can water the flower of science and technology with the light of reason. I hope I can master profound academic knowledge and make scientific research achievements that are valuable to society。For the future, Zheng Zhiqiang is full of determination and confidence, and he hopes to return to Beijing Institute of Technology to teach and educate people in the future and continue the scientific research career of micro-nano robot research。