Will future microbots be task-specific customized machines or multi-purpose “all in one” vehicles?

Wang, Joseph

doi:10.1038/s41467-021-26675-0

Cited by 13 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…For example, DNA-engineered micro- and nanorobots exploit the self-propulsion, programmability and specificity of Watson–Crick base pairing for the intracellular detection of cancer biomarkers or gene delivery 68 . However, the choice of single-task or multi-purpose robots must be thoroughly assessed, because integrating multiple units entails several fabrication, assembly and scaling challenges 69 .…”

Section: From Materials To Robotsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Smart micro- and nanorobots for water purification

2023

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Less than 1% of Earth’s freshwater reserves is accessible. Industrialization, population growth and climate change are further exacerbating clean water shortage. Current water-remediation treatments fail to remove most pollutants completely or release toxic by-products into the environment. The use of self-propelled programmable micro- and nanoscale synthetic robots is a promising alternative way to improve water monitoring and remediation by overcoming diffusion-limited reactions and promoting interactions with target pollutants, including nano- and microplastics, persistent organic pollutants, heavy metals, oils and pathogenic microorganisms. This Review introduces the evolution of passive micro- and nanomaterials through active micro- and nanomotors and into advanced intelligent micro- and nanorobots in terms of motion ability, multifunctionality, adaptive response, swarming and mutual communication. After describing removal and degradation strategies, we present the most relevant improvements in water treatment, highlighting the design aspects necessary to improve remediation efficiency for specific contaminants. Finally, open challenges and future directions are discussed for the real-world application of smart micro- and nanorobots.

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Section: From Materials To Robotsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Smart micro- and nanorobots for water purification

2023

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“… Schematic of the micromotors [ 38 ]: ( A ) special-purpose micromotor; ( B ) general-purpose micromotor. …”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Considering the major challenges of specific applications in the future, more advanced micromotors, combining multiple functions, will be created to meet the needs of complex biomedical tasks. As shown in Figure 1 , researchers have turned their attention from single-task micromotors (A) to multifunctional micromotors (B) [ 38 ]. Various new functionalities and capabilities have been added to the tubular micromotors, such as enzyme, antigen and antidote.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantitative Analysis of Drag Force for Task-Specific Micromachine at Low Reynolds Numbers

Wang

2022

Micromachines

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Micromotors have spread widely in order to meet the needs of new applications, including cell operation, drug delivery, biosensing, precise surgery and environmental decontamination, due to their small size, low energy consumption and large propelling power, especially the newly designed multifunctional micromotors that combine many extra shape features in one device. Features such as rod-like receptors, dendritic biosensors and ball-like catalyzing enzymes are added to the outer surface of the tubular micromotor during fabrication to perform their special mission. However, the structural optimization of motion performance is still unclear. The main factor restricting the motion performance of the micromotors is the drag forces. The complex geometry of a micromotor makes its dynamic behavior more complicated in a fluid environment. This study aimed to design the optimum structure of tubular micromotors with minimum drag forces and obtain the magnitude of drag forces considering both the internal and external fluids of the micromotors. By using the computational fluid dynamics software Fluent 18.0 (ANSYS), the drag force and the drag coefficient of different conical micromotors were calculated. Moreover, the influence of the Reynolds numbers Re, the semi-cone angle δ and the ratios ξ and η on the drag coefficient was analyzed. The results show the drag force monotonically increased with Reynolds numbers Re and the ratio η. The extreme point of the drag curve is reached when the semi-cone angle δ is 8° and the ratio ξ is 3.846. This work provides theoretical support and guidance for optimizing the design and development of conical micromotors.

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“…Conventional drug delivery strategies primarily rely on the diffusion of therapeutic molecules and micro/ nanocarriers in the blood flow or in other biofluids. Although various drugs using oral or intravascular administration are available, they still suffer from clearance and a rapid transit period in the circulation system and various organs, making them both less effective and showing several side effects (8)(9)(10)(11). Learning from natural motile microorganisms, various propulsion strategies for cutting-edge swimming microrobots have been developed for low Reynolds number environments, using magnetic and acoustic actuation to offer better delivery of therapeutic agents to the diseased region (12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bioinspired claw-engaged and biolubricated swimming microrobots creating active retention in blood vessels

Sun

et al. 2023

Sci. Adv.

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Swimming microrobots guided in the circulation system offer considerable promise in precision medicine but currently suffer from problems such as limited adhesion to blood vessels, intensive blood flow, and immune system clearance—all reducing the targeted interaction. A swimming microrobot design with clawed geometry, a red blood cell (RBC) membrane–camouflaged surface, and magnetically actuated retention is discussed, allowing better navigation and inspired by the tardigrade’s mechanical claw engagement, coupled to an RBC membrane coating, to minimize blood flow impact. Using clinical intravascular optical coherence tomography in vivo, the microrobots’ activity and dynamics in a rabbit jugular vein was monitored, illustrating very effective magnetic propulsion, even against a flow of ~2.1 cm/s, comparable with rabbit blood flow characteristics. The equivalent friction coefficient with magnetically actuated retention is elevated ~24-fold, compared to magnetic microspheres, achieving active retention at 3.2 cm/s, for >36 hours, showing considerable promise across biomedical applications.

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Will future microbots be task-specific customized machines or multi-purpose “all in one” vehicles?

Cited by 13 publications

References 14 publications

Smart micro- and nanorobots for water purification

Smart micro- and nanorobots for water purification

Quantitative Analysis of Drag Force for Task-Specific Micromachine at Low Reynolds Numbers

Bioinspired claw-engaged and biolubricated swimming microrobots creating active retention in blood vessels

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