Visible‐Light‐Driven Janus Microvehicles in Biological Media

Abstract

Alight-driven multifunctional Janus micromotor for the removal of bacterial endotoxins and heavy metals is described. The micromotor was assembled by using the biocompatible polymer polycaprolactone for the encapsulation of CdTeo rC dSe@ZnS quantum dots (QDs) as photoactive materials and an asymmetric Fe 3 O 4 patch for propulsion. The micromotors can be activated with visible light (470-490 nm) to propel in peroxide or glucose media by adiffusiophoretic mechanism. Efficient propulsion was observed for the first time in complex samples such as human blood serum. These properties were exploited for efficient endotoxinremoval using lipopolysaccharides from Escherichia coli O111:B4 as am odel toxin. The micromotors were also used for mercury removal by cationic exchange with the CdSe@ZnS core-shell QDs.C ytotoxicity assays in HeLa cell lines demonstrated the high biocompatibility of the micromotors for future detoxification applications.Supportinginformation and the ORCID identification number(s) for the author(s) of this article can be found under: https://doi.

Recent Advances in Nano‐ and Micromotors

“…A similar approach to eradicate endotoxin from water used Janus microswimmers. [54] The swimmers displayed one hemisphere made of photoactive CdTe quantum dots and the other hemisphere consisted of core-shell ZnS/CdSe quantum dots, and an asymmetric patch of magnetite nanoparticles. These swimmers presented the ability of navigating complex biological media with velocities up to 8 µm s −1 for 1% H 2 O 2 under a 490 nm visible light source, and ≈12 µm s −1 for 0.2 m glucose under a 270 nm UV light source.…”

Tailoring Metal/TiO2 Interface to Influence Motion of Light‐Activated Janus Micromotors

“…In addition to TiO 2 , hematite (Fe 2 O 3 ) and BiVO 4 have been used as base templates to fabricate earlier generation light‐powered micromotors, due to their wide bandgap semiconducting properties. Recently, photoactive quantum dots are attracting great attention among scientists for the preparation of visible‐light‐driven micromotors . ZnO/Pt microrobots, ZnO/Pt microrods, and ZnO microrockets with coated Ni layer have also been demonstrated as excellent photoactive materials, exhibiting autonomous motion under UV light, as well as steerable motion.…”

“…Recently, photoactive quantum dots are attracting great attention among scientists for the preparation of visible-light-driven micromotors. [21,22] ZnO/Pt microrobots, [23,24] ZnO/Pt microrods, [25] and ZnO microrockets with coated Ni layer [1] have also been demonstrated as excellent photoactive materials, exhibiting autonomous motion under UV light, as well as steerable motion.…”

Biocompatible and pH‐Responsive Colloidal Surfactants with Tunable Shape for Controlled Interfacial Curvature

“…However, the preparation of biocompatible amphiphilic Janus particles through a facile method has barely been addressed, which greatly limits their biorelated application . Therefore, there remains strong demand for new classes of biocompatible Janus particles with tunable morphology and functionality, which could enable the design of applications in food, cosmetics, drug delivery, and biomedicine …”