Graphene-Based Helical Micromotors Constructed by "Microscale Liquid Rope-Coil Effect" with Microfluidics
Yue Dong1,2, Lu Wang2, Jie Wang1
1Britton Chance Center for Biomedical Photonics at Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics-Hubei Bioinformatics & Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory, Systems Biology Theme, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, People's Republic of China.
ACS Nano
|October 29, 2020
Summary
Researchers developed novel graphene-based helical micromotors using a microfluidic technique. These functionalized micromotors demonstrate promising applications in water remediation and drug delivery.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science and Engineering
- Nanotechnology
- Microfluidics
Background:
- Artificial helical micro-/nanomotors, inspired by bacterial flagella, are crucial for targeted applications.
- Graphene-based materials possess excellent properties but haven't been explored for helical micromotor construction.
- Developing efficient fabrication methods for functionalized micromotors remains a key challenge.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose and validate a novel strategy for fabricating graphene oxide-based helical micromotors (GOFHMs).
- To investigate the potential applications of these graphene-based helical micromotors (GFHMs) in water remediation and drug delivery.
- To demonstrate the tunability of GOFHMs' structural parameters through microfluidic control.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a "microscale liquid rope-coil effect" strategy combined with capillary microfluidics for high-throughput GOFHM fabrication.
- Tailored micromotor dimensions (pitch, length, diameter) by adjusting microfluidic parameters (flow velocity, concentration).
- Reduced GOFHMs to graphene-based helical micromotors (GFHMs) via a reduction and drying process.
- Demonstrated actuation and programmed locomotion of GFHMs in microchannels using a rotating magnetic field.
Main Results:
- Successfully fabricated a range of GOFHMs with controllable dimensions.
- GFHMs exhibited programmed locomotion when actuated by a rotating magnetic field.
- GFHMs and Ag-modified GFHMs showed excellent efficiency in removing chemical and biological pollutants from water.
- Doxorubicin-modified GFHMs were successfully prepared for drug delivery applications.
Conclusions:
- The microfluidic-based "microscale liquid rope-coil effect" offers a stable, simple, and high-throughput method for fabricating tunable graphene-based helical micromotors.
- GFHMs demonstrate significant potential for environmental remediation and targeted drug delivery applications.
- Functionalization of GFHMs with nanoparticles or molecules opens avenues for diverse applications in various fields.
