Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jiang-Xing Chen, Renbo Yuan, Rufei Cui, Liyan Qiao
Summary: The study investigates the dynamics of chemically powered sphere dimers at the micro- and nano-scales in a quasi-two-dimensional geometry. It is found that the asymmetric concentration gradients generated by a chemical reaction on the catalytic surface lead to self-propulsion of the dimers, forming anti-parallel aligned doublets that exhibit the same rotation direction and lose translational motion. The chirality of the dimers plays a crucial role in the formation of these doublets, displaying new collective dynamics and structures when both translational and rotational self-propulsion occur simultaneously.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Qingpu Wang, Pamela Knoll, Oliver Steinbock
Summary: Synthetic autonomous locomotion has great potential in various research fields, showcasing targeted drug/cargo delivery and circumvention of kinetic and thermodynamic limitations. In this study, hollow cylindrical structures rich in catalytic manganese oxide were grown through the self-organization of precipitate tubes in chemical gardens, achieving self-propulsion through the ejection of oxygen bubbles. The method and key results are expected to be applicable to a wide range of materials and reactions.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY B
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ambika Somasundar, Ayusman Sen
Summary: The development of nano and micromotors for actively delivering drugs to disease sites in vivo faces challenges such as safety, biocompatibility, ability to traverse body fluids, and reach cellular targets. Furthermore, scalability and uniformity in production are critical factors.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Rumin Liu, Liyan Zhao, Shikuan Yang, Jingwen Lin, Xu Wang, Dongliang Chen, Guanjin Lu, Hongwen Chen, Zhaoying Wang, Zhizhen Ye, Jianguo Lu
Summary: ZnO nanoshuttles were synthesized and designed to have three motion modes of shake, rotation, and translation in water. The asymmetrically distributed defects on the surface of ZnO nanoshuttles are responsible for the swimming modes. This study also demonstrates the versatility and openness of ZnO nanoshuttle micro-/nanomotors.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY C
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Migle Ziemyte, Andrea Escudero, Paula Diez, Maria D. Ferrer, Jose R. Murguia, Vicente Marti-Centelles, Alex Mira, Ramon Martinez-Manez
Summary: Development of bioinspired nanomotors with effective propulsion and cargo delivery capabilities has gained significant attention for potential biomedical applications. This study presents the design and application of a multifunctional gated Janus platinum-mesoporous silica nanomotor for disrupting bacterial biofilms. The nanomotor achieves high efficacy in EPS biomass disruption and reduction in cell viability, showcasing its potential as a promising strategy for biofilm elimination.
CHEMISTRY OF MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Zhihua Lin, Changyong Gao, Daolin Wang, Qiang He
Summary: This study presents a bubble-propelled Janus gallium/zinc (Ga/Zn) micromotor with good biocompatibility and biodegradability, which can actively target bacteria for treatment. The micromotors exhibit self-propulsion in simulated gastroenteric acid and enhanced antibacterial efficiency against H. pylori compared to passive Ga microparticles. The Ga/Zn micromotors combine self-propulsion, biocompatibility, biodegradability, and Ga-based antibacterial properties, showing promise for active treatment of bacterial infections.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Johannes Voss, Raphael Wittkowski
Summary: Research focuses on cone-shaped nano- and microparticles, showing that their propulsion is highly dependent on the aspect ratio, with short particles moving forward and elongated particles moving backward. A cone shape has been identified that enables particularly large propulsion speeds. This study contributes to understanding ultrasound-propelled colloidal particles, offers a method for separating and sorting nano- and microcones based on aspect ratio, and provides useful guidance for future experiments and applications.
NANOSCALE ADVANCES
(2021)
Article
Mechanics
Evgeny S. S. Asmolov, Olga I. I. Vinogradova
Summary: Catalytic Janus swimmers can propel themselves in electrolyte solutions by releasing active ions from their surface. We investigated the effect of passive ions from added salt on the self-propulsion of two types of swimmers: those that release only one type of ion (type I) and those that release equal amounts of cations and anions (type II). Our results showed that the maximum ion flux and propulsion velocity are constrained for type I swimmers, but remain unaffected for type II particles.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ke Wang, Enhui Ma, Haohao Cui, Zhenqi Hu, Hong Wang
Summary: Self-propelled micromotors based on natural fibers are developed, which facilitate the migration of remediation reagents and achieve efficient degradation of organic pollutants in soil. The micromotors display enhanced horizontal and vertical migration in the subsurface environment and exhibit excellent catalytic performances toward the degradation of a wide spectrum of antibiotics and hydrocarbons.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2023)
Review
Biochemical Research Methods
Liuzheng Zheng, Nathan Hart, Yong Zeng
Summary: The field of micro-/nanorobotics has made significant progress and attracted interest from various research communities. Micro-/nanoscale robots offer unique advantages in chemical and biological sensing, making them a promising platform for future developments. This review provides an overview of the current state-of-the-art in micro-/nanorobotics, discusses the challenges faced, and presents the potential future applications of soft robotics in chemical and biological sensing.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Heng Ye, Shengnan Wang, Yong Wang, Peiting Guo, Liying Wang, Chengke Zhao, Shuqing Chen, Yimai Chen, Hongqi Sun, Shaobin Wang, Xing Ma
Summary: In this study, Fe-MnO2 core-shell micromotors were successfully synthesized for antibiotic pollutant removal. Heat treatment transformed MnO2, promoting its mobility. These core-shell micromotors efficiently removed tetracycline antibiotics through catalytic degradation and adsorptive bubble separation, achieving optimal Fenton reaction and good decontamination performance in neutral conditions.
APPLIED CATALYSIS B-ENVIRONMENTAL
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Chengjie Qu, Meng Ren, Zhuangming Qiao, Xiaohua Ren, Weilin Guo
Summary: A novel microfluidic approach using microfiber confinement was developed to fabricate droplet-templated micromotors for water treatment. By adjusting flow rates and coating nanoparticles on the surface, precise control over the shape and size of resulting micromotors can be achieved, showing good bubble-propelled motion and effective pollutant degradation capacity.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS SCIENCE
(2022)
Review
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Jianting Zhang, Zhoujiang Chen, Ranjith Kumar Kankala, Shi-Bin Wang, Ai-Zheng Chen
Summary: Self-propelling micro-/nano-motors (MNMs) show enormous potential in various applications, such as drug delivery, by overcoming the challenge of low permeation of biological barriers. Research progress and application of these innovative motor designs are expected to play a crucial role in future clinical practice.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Yu Liu, Jun Ge
Summary: Biocatalytic micro/nanomotors are objects that can convert local chemical energy into mechanical energy through enzyme catalysis, and they have great potential in the fields of biomedicine, sensors, and environmental science. When combined with metal-organic frameworks, biocatalytic motors have many advantages, such as easy synthesis, high porosity, good biocompatibility, and multifunctional behaviors.
Article
Mathematics, Applied
Minsoo Kim, Mamoru Okamoto, Yusuke Yasugahira, Shinpei Tanaka, Satoshi Nakata, Yasuaki Kobayashi, Masaharu Nagayama
Summary: This study investigates the collective behaviors of oil droplets floating on a surfactant solution in a narrow circular channel, both experimentally and numerically. A mathematical model is introduced to explain the transient oscillations and cluster formation of the droplets, showing successful reproduction of these experimental findings. The long-range interaction due to the global concentration profile of the solution is argued to be sufficient for the cluster formation.
PHYSICA D-NONLINEAR PHENOMENA
(2021)