Assembly and Transport of Microscopic Cargos via Reconfigurable Photoactivated Magnetic Microdockers

The realization of micromotors able to dock and transport microscopic objects in a fluid medium has direct applications toward the delivery of drugs and chemicals in small channels and pores, and the realization of functional wireless microrobots in lab-on-a-chip technology. A simple and general method to tow microscopic particles in water by using remotely controllable light-activated hematite microdockers is demonstrated. These anisotropic ferromagnetic particles can be synthesized in bulk and present the remarkable ability to be activated by light while independently manipulated via external fields. The photoactivation process induces a phoretic flow capable to attract cargos toward the surface of the propellers, while a rotating magnetic field is used to transport the composite particles to any location of the experimental platform. The method allows the assembling of small colloidal clusters of various sizes, composed by a skeleton of mobile magnetic dockers, which cooperatively keep, transport, and release the microscopic cargos. The possibility to easily reconfigure in situ the location of the docker above the cargo is demonstrated, which enables optimize transport and cargo release operations.