Researchers at KAIST and UNIST developed an implantable, shape-morphing 3D micro-LED device capable of effectively delivering light to deep tissues. The technology, designed for pancreatic cancer treatments, has a flexible, octopus-inspired architecture, allowing it to wrap around the entire pancreatic tumor. The device delivers light to the tumor, despite the tumor’s physiological expansion or contraction, enabling continuous, low-intensity photostimulation that precisely targets cancer cells while preserving normal tissue. Traditional pancreatic cancer treatments struggle due to the dense tumor microenvironment. This biological barrier surrounds the tumor, severely impeding the infiltration of chemotherapy agents and immune cells. While photodynamic therapy has offered a promising alternative, existing internal light sources, such as lasers, fail to penetrate deep tissues effectively and pose risks of thermal damage and inflammation to healthy organs. Within in vivo mouse testing, the developed device successfully demonstrated remarkable therapeutic effectiveness. Within three days, the tumor fibrous tissue was reduced by 64% and the pancreatic tissue successfully reverted to normal tissue, overcoming the limitations of conventional photodynamic therapy. Professor Tae-Hyuk Kwon from UNIST said, "While phototherapy is effective for selective cancer treatment, conventional technologies have been limited by the challenges of delivering light to deep tissues and developing suitable photosensitizers." According to Kwon, the team now aims to build on the work to expand immune-based therapeutic strategies for intractable cancers. The research was published in Advanced Materials (www.doi.org/10.1002/adma.71337).