A recent paper by a team at the Max-Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems describes the use of capillary forces to grip and manipulate objects in an aqueous environment. In their demonstration, a sub-millimetre robot is remotely manipulated using external magnetic fields. The device uses a protruding air bubble to grab hold of objects using capillary action. The bubble is actuated by controlling the pressure of the aqueous medium, lowering the pressure extends the bubble, whilst increasing it retracts it from the gripped object. 

With the dimensions and materials used in the Max-Plank example, pressures of ~100 mbar are required. The gripper force is highest for hydrophobic surfaces but also works for hydrophilic surfaces with a contact angle >30degrees. However, at this low-value, other forces on the object may become comparable to the gripping force and cause the object to slip.

Whilst the Max-Planck example combined the capillary gripping technique with a untethered robot, it might also be combined with conventional tools to manipulate implanted sensors, drug delivery devices or structures in the eye. However, there would clearly be challenges to the technique such as whether it can grip at a lower pressure swing (intraocular pressure is typically around 20 mBar) and whether the vitreous humor provides appropriate capillary forces or whether the vitreous humor would first need to be removed by vitrectomy.

Here is a neat video of the robot gripper in action.

http://www.rsc.org/suppdata/c6/lc/c6lc00981f/c6lc00981f2.mov