Chemotactic Micro/Nanomotors for Biomedical Applications.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Nanotechnology
• Chemical Biology

Background:

• Organisms utilize chemotaxis for survival, navigating chemical gradients to find nutrients or evade threats.
• Chemotactic micro/nanomotors mimic natural navigation, offering novel tools for biomedical research and disease modeling.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review construction methods of chemotactic micro/nanomotors.
• To elucidate the mechanisms driving chemotaxis in these motors.
• To summarize their biomedical applications, particularly in cancer and cardiovascular diseases.

Main Methods:

• Classification of micro/nanomotors based on constituent materials (natural cells vs. synthetic).
• Detailed explanation of chemotaxis mechanisms: chemical reaction-induced and physical process-driven.
• Comparative analysis of chemotactic motors against magnetic, electrical, and optical counterparts.

Main Results:

• Elaboration on construction strategies and therapeutic effects of cell-based and synthetic chemotactic micro/nanomotors.
• Detailed description of chemical and physical mechanisms underlying micro/nanomotor chemotaxis.
• Summary of recent biomedical applications, highlighting efficacy in cancer and cardiovascular disease models.

Conclusions:

• Chemotactic micro/nanomotors offer significant advantages over other micro/nanomotor types.
• These motors demonstrate considerable potential for future biomedical applications.
• Further development is anticipated to enhance their role in disease treatment and diagnostics.