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Page 4 of 19 Chen et al. Soft Sci. 2026, 6, 48

Figure 1. Design, fabrication, and working principle of the MBF. (A) Schematic illustration of the MBF for catheter-free angioplasty; (B) The
fabrication process of the MBF by integrating a magnetic tip, a phase-change balloon, and a PDMS fiber; (C) Scanning electron microscopy
(SEM) images showing the cross-section of the balloon with multi-layers; (D) Schematic representation of the balloon expansion
mechanism by the liquid-to-gas phase change upon microwave heating; (E) The optical and infrared images demonstrate the balloon
expansion when placed at D = 15 cm from a microwave irradiator. The inset shows the zoomed-in view of the balloon; (F) Comparison of
heating efficiency, defined as the increased temperature normalized by the power ΔT / P, between RF heating and microwave heating.
MBF: Magnetic balloon fiberbot; PDMS: polydimethylsiloxane; RF: radio frequency; MW: microwave; CNT: carbon nanotube.

The functionalized Ecoflex tube was prepared as follows:

Firstly, Part A and Part B of Ecoflex 0030 and hexane were mixed in a ratio of 1:1:3, placed in a planetary
mixer (ARV-310, Thinky, Japan) and blended at 2,000 rpm for 2 min to obtain a silicone solution for balloon
base layer spraying. The needle, coated with mold release agent (Release 200) was fixed to the rotating shaft