Graphdiyne Micromotors in Living Biomedia

Graphdiyne (GDY), a new kind of two-dimensional (2D) material, was combined with micromotor technology for "on-the-fly" operations in complex biomedia. Microtubular structures were prepared by template deposition on membrane templates, resulting in functional structures rich in sp and sp² carbons with highly conjugated π networks. This resulted in a highly increased surface area for a higher loading of anticancer drugs or enhanced quenching ability over other 2D based micromotors, such as graphene oxide (GO) or smooth tubular micromotors. High biocompatibility with almost 100 % cell viability was observed in cytotoxicity assays with moving micromotors in the presence of HeLa cells. On a first example, GDY micromotors loaded with doxorubicin (DOX) were used for pH responsive release and HeLa cancer cells killing. The use of affinity peptide engineered GDY micromotors was also illustrated for highly sensitive and selective fluorescent OFF-ON detection of cholera toxin B through specific recognition of the subunit B region of the target toxin. The new developments illustrated here offer considerable promise for the use of GDY as part of micromotors in living biosystems.