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Research Progress

Bioinspired micromotors mimic fish to deliver cargo and target cancer cells

发布时间： 2025-06-03 08:52 点击：246

Organisms in nature have evolved a wide range of morphologies, structural features, components, behaviors, and functions to survive and adapt within complex environments. These natural strategies have inspired the design, fabrication, and application of artificial systems across multiple fields.

Nature-inspired design is typically classified into five categories: morphology, structure, behavior, function, and integrated combinations of these elements. Such biomimetic approaches are particularly valuable for developing advanced propulsion methods, enhanced functionalities, and novel operational mechanisms in the design of intelligent micro- and nanomotors.

The distinctive features derived from nature make these bioinspired micro/nanomotors promising candidates for a variety of applications, including cargo transport, nanomedicine, sensing, and environmental remediation. Nonetheless, it remains challenging to engineer micro/nanomotors with sufficient flexibility and adaptability to function effectively in dynamic and complex environments.

In a new study (Nano Research, "Biomimetic two-stage micro@nanomotor with weak acid-triggered release of nanomotors"), the researchers drew inspiration from the behavior of suckerfish, which attach themselves to larger marine animals like sharks or the hulls of boats and travel alongside them. Upon reaching regions rich in bait, these fish detach to forage independently. Mimicking this behavior, the team developed an intelligent two-stage micro@nanomotor system, in which smaller nanomotors are released under weakly acidic conditions. Specifically, Janus-type gold-platinum (Au-Pt) nanomotors—functioning as mobile components similar to suckerfish—were anchored to a stationary polydopamine-mesoporous silica (PDA-MS) micromotor, forming a core–satellite structure named PDA-MS@Au-Pt.

Inspired by the suckerfishes-shark motion behavior, we designed and prepared a kind of NIR light-propelled micro@nanomotor with weak acid-triggered release of H2O2-driven nanomotor. (Image: Nano Research, Tsinghua University Press)

This two-stage micro@nanomotor system operates through two distinct mechanisms. Initially, the PDA-MS@Au-Pt micromotor undergoes directional motion driven by near-infrared (NIR) light through a self-thermophoretic process. Upon entering a mildly acidic environment, mimicking a tumor microenvironment and generated by a low concentration of hydrogen peroxide (H?O?), the coordinated bonds between the PDA-MS core and the Au-Pt satellites weaken. As a result, the Au-Pt nanomotors detach and independently move via self-diffusiophoresis using H?O? as a chemical fuel.

This biomimetic system, composed of a large micromotor host and numerous functional nanomotor satellites, offers a novel strategy for active, two-stage cargo delivery. The approach holds potential for application in theranostics, particularly for cancer treatment, where the tumor’s mildly acidic environment could trigger site-specific release and activation. The core–satellite configuration of PDA-MS@Au-Pt micro@nanomotors represents an efficient platform for delivering multiple functional nanomotors to targeted locations.