Creating materials that can sense, adapt, and respond to their environment like living organisms has long challenged scientists. Traditional synthetic materials lack the complexity and responsiveness found in biological systems, limiting their use in dynamic medical or environmental applications. Researchers have now developed microscopic soft robots capable of changing shape and behavior in real time, bridging the gap between machines and living systems.

Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Chapel Hill, NC, USA) have created these “DNA flowers” — microscopic soft robots made from special crystals that combine DNA with inorganic materials. The design was inspired by natural phenomena such as blooming petals, coral pulsing, and tissue formation. Each flower’s DNA acts as a tiny computer program, dictating how it moves and reacts to environmental changes like acidity, enabling it to open, close, or trigger a chemical response.

The DNA inside the flower-shaped crystals folds and unfolds depending on the surrounding conditions. In acidic environments, the DNA compresses, causing the petals to close, while under neutral conditions, it loosens and opens. This reversible movement happens within seconds, making these among the most dynamic nanoscale materials ever developed. The precise control over DNA folding allows the structures to carry, release, or interact with molecules and biological tissues on demand.

In early tests, the team demonstrated how the shape-changing flowers could control chemical reactions and respond autonomously to environmental triggers. The findings, published in the Journal of Nature Nanotechnology, underscore the potential of these materials to mimic life-like adaptability at microscopic scales.

The responsiveness and reversibility of the flowers’ motion mark a leap forward in smart material design. The technology has wide-ranging applications. In medicine, these DNA flowers could be injected or implanted into the body to release drugs at precise sites, perform biopsies, or dissolve blood clots, all triggered by local conditions such as pH changes.

“People would love to have smart capsules that would automatically activate medication when it detects disease and stops when it is healed. In principle, this could be possible with our shapeshifting materials,” said Dr. Ronit Freeman, senior and corresponding author of the paper and director of the Freeman Lab at UNC. “In the future, swallowable or implantable shape-changing flowers could be designed to deliver a targeted dose of drugs, perform a biopsy, or clear a blood clot.”

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