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Chen et al. Soft Sci. 2026, 6, 9 Page 21 of 36

Figure 10. MLM slurry-based soft robots. MLM slurry-based soft gripper utilizing (A) phase transition [59] and (B) Rosensweig instability [110] .
Reprinted with permission [59] . Copyright 2021, John Wiley and Sons; Reprinted with permission [110] . Copyright 2024, John Wiley and Sons;
Printable MLM slurry with the properties including (C) good printability [111] , (D) no leakage [112] , and (E) sensing-actuating integration [61] .
Reprinted with permission [111] . Copyright 2018, John Wiley and Sons; Reprinted with permission [112] . Copyright 2019, John Wiley and Sons;
Reprinted with permission [61] . Copyright 2020, John Wiley and Sons; (F) MLM slurry-based stiffness-tunable bioelectrode [90] . Reprinted
with permission. Copyright 2018, John Wiley and Sons; (G) Flexible MLM patch for hybrid thermophysical therapy [114] . Reprinted with
permission. Copyright 2023, John Wiley and Sons. MLM: Magnetic liquid metal; TF: transitional ferrofluid; RT: room temperature.

slurry-based porous scaffold was introduced into bone tissue engineering [113] . The MLM scaffold showed
good biocompatibility and enhanced mesenchymal stem cell osteogenic differentiation. Through magnetic
field modulation, the scaffold’s dynamic stiffness promoted both osteogenesis and osseointegration in vivo.
In addition, the MLM slurry can also serve as a flexible skin patch utilizing the enhanced surface adhesion
across diverse substrates, including biological tissue [Figure 10G] [114] . The flexible patch could effectively
respond to AMFs, generating inductive heating for targeted therapy without spatial constraints. The patch
adhered conformably to the tumor surface, enabling cryoablation, hyperthermia, and combined
cryo-thermal therapy in vivo. Significant tumor growth inhibition and effective ablation observed via
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) confirmed the patch’s remarkable therapeutic efficacy.

MLM particle-based soft robots
Under ultrasound exposure, MLM bulk can be readily dispersed into nano/microparticles in solution [70,115] .
These dispersed particles exhibit a high surface-to-volume ratio, enabling facile functionalization with drugs,
biomolecules, or catalysts. In addition to their excellent electrical and thermal conductivity, MLM particles
possess intrinsic magneto-responsiveness, photothermal conversion ability, and dynamic shape adaptability,
which collectively provide versatile platforms for biomedical and environmental applications [116-118] . Their
multifunctionality has been demonstrated across diverse scenarios, including minimally invasive
neuromodulation, antibacterial treatment, and environmental remediation.