Micro/Nanorobotic Swarms: From Fundamentals to Functionalities

ACS Nano, Journal Year: 2023, Volume and Issue: 17(14), P. 12971 - 12999

Published: July 11, 2023

Swarms, which stem from collective behaviors among individual elements, are commonly seen in nature. Since two decades ago, scientists have been attempting to understand the principles of natural swarms and leverage them for creating artificial swarms. To date, underlying physics; techniques actuation, navigation, control; field-generation systems; a research community now place. This Review reviews fundamental applications micro/nanorobotic The generation mechanisms emergent micro/nanoagents identified over past elucidated. advantages drawbacks different techniques, existing control systems, major challenges, potential prospects discussed.

Language: Английский

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Microrobots for Biomedicine: Unsolved Challenges and Opportunities for Translation

ACS Nano, Journal Year: 2023, Volume and Issue: 17(15), P. 14196 - 14204

Published: July 26, 2023

Microrobots are being explored for biomedical applications, such as drug delivery, biological cargo transport, and minimally invasive surgery. However, current efforts largely focus on proof-of-concept studies with nontranslatable materials through a "design-and-apply" approach, limiting the potential clinical adaptation. While these have been key to advancing microrobot technologies, we believe that distinguishing capabilities of microrobots will be most readily brought patient bedsides "design-by-problem" which involves focusing unsolved problems inform design practical capabilities. As outlined below, propose translation accelerated by judicious choice target improved delivery considerations, rational selection translation-ready biomaterials, ultimately reducing burden enhancing efficacy therapeutic drugs difficult-to-treat diseases.

Language: Английский

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Open Questions of Chemically Powered Nano- and Micromotors

Journal of the American Chemical Society, Journal Year: 2023, Volume and Issue: 145(50), P. 27185 - 27197

Published: Dec. 8, 2023

Chemically powered nano- and micromotors are microscopic devices that convert chemical energy into motion. Interest in these motors has grown over the past 20 years because they exhibit interesting collective behaviors have found potential uses biomedical environmental applications. Understanding how operate both individually collectively environments affect their operation is of fundamental applied significance. However, there still significant gaps our knowledge. This Perspective highlights several open questions regarding propulsion mechanisms of, interactions among, impact confinements on driven by self-generated gradients. These based my own experience as an experimentalist. For each question, I describe problem its significance, analyze status-quo, identify bottleneck problem, propose solutions. An underlying theme for interplay among reaction kinetics, physicochemical distributions, fluid flows. Unraveling this requires careful measurements well a close collaboration between experimentalists theoreticians/numerical experts. The interdisciplinary nature challenges suggests solutions could bring new revelations opportunities across disciplines such colloidal sciences, material soft matter physics, robotics, beyond.

Language: Английский

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Shaping active matter from crystalline solids to active turbulence

Nature Communications, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: 15(1)

Published: April 3, 2024

Abstract Active matter drives its constituent agents to move autonomously by harnessing free energy, leading diverse emergent states with relevance both biological processes and inanimate functionalities. Achieving maximum reconfigurability of active materials minimal control remains a desirable yet challenging goal. Here, we employ large-scale, agent-resolved simulations demonstrate that modulating the activity wet phoretic medium alone can govern solid-liquid-gas phase transitions and, subsequently, laminar-turbulent in fluid phases, thereby shaping pattern. These two progressively emerging transitions, hitherto unreported, bring us closer perceiving parallels between traditional matter. Our work reproduces reconciles seemingly conflicting experimental observations on chemically systems, presenting unified landscape collective dynamics. findings enhance understanding long-range, many-body interactions among agents, offer new insights into their non-equilibrium behaviors, provide potential guidelines for designing reconfigurable materials.

Language: Английский

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Metareview: a survey of active matter reviews

The European Physical Journal E, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 48(2)

Published: Feb. 1, 2025

In the past years, amount of research on active matter has grown extremely rapidly, a fact that is reflected in particular by existence more than 1000 reviews this topic. Moreover, field become very diverse, ranging from theoretical studies statistical mechanics particles to applied work medical applications microrobots and biological systems artificial swimmers. This makes it difficult get an overview over as whole. Here, we provide such form metareview article surveys existing review articles books matter. Thereby, provides useful starting point for finding literature about specific

Language: Английский

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Characterizing the Janus colloidal particles in AC electric field and a step towards label-free cargo manipulation

Chemical Physics Impact, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: 8, P. 100588 - 100588

Published: March 28, 2024

In recent years, researchers have been exploring Janus particles, a unique type of colloidal system, which has gained enormous attention across diverse fields, from soft matter physics to biology. These possessing an asymmetric surface, can be manipulated in the fluid using external energy sources. This versatility makes them suitable for mimicking biological systems and applications like cargo transportation, drug delivery, biosensing, environmental cleanup. The study focuses on response metal-dielectric (Ti-PMMA) spheres AC field, created through Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) technique. When subjected uniform electric these particles exhibit different dynamic behaviors at various frequency ranges. show responses induced charge electrophoresis (ICEP: 500Hz-80kHz) reversed motion (r: ICEP:100kHz-1MHz) linear chain formation (1MHz). Additionally, they randomly cluster near lower characteristic (800Hz) ICEP, whereas 3D frequencies (100Hz) below this value. mechanisms behind phenomena could explained by considering concept double layer (EDL), self-dielectrophoresis (sDEP), dipolar interactions, hydrodynamic electrothermal effects. active Colloids are further leveraged manipulate 1µm diameter PMMA passive microparticles E. coli bacteria 1kHz, showcasing their potential delivery under microfluidic research areas. manipulation payloads based dielectrophoretic trapping due locally generated field gradients around surface sphere. Therefore, present work offers unprecedented opportunity such out-of-equilibrium complex create novel functional materials. Moreover, it also extended as fuel-free micro-robotics system biomedical sensing on-demand or inside microfluidics chamber.

Language: Английский

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Progress in the Synthesis of Colloidal Machines

Accounts of Materials Research, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: 5(3), P. 249 - 258

Published: Feb. 22, 2024

ConspectusFor the past decade, field of colloidal science has expanded collection particles to include an entire library subunits that can be isotropic or anisotropic in terms structural morphology chemical composition. Using subunits, assembled a variety static and dynamic structures. For this Account, we use umbrella term "dynamic colloids" describe capable movement, shape-shifting, any other type action response stimulus "static those are unresponsive such stimuli. We view colloids as access point machines, unique emerging subfield science. The assembly into machines differs from traditional self-assembly only final structures assembled, not methods used. Dynamic assemblies have capacity interact with their environment ways self-assemblies do not. Here, present current state toward introduction next wave machines.Machines ubiquitous nature synthetic systems, governing every aspect life. In mechanics, machine is device transmits modifies force motion. biology, nature's kinesin ATP synthetase essential realm, molecular nanomachines, recognized Nobel prize, diverse rotors elevators fabricated using bottom-up methods. On microscale, microscopic motors based on microelectromechanical systems (MEMs) been achieved via top-down micromachining. scale, conspicuously absent due, part, difficulty navigating combinatory design spaces. (100 nm 10 μm) line miniaturization machines. Due fabrication generally used creating colloids, one achieve complexity at smaller scale than possible approaches. would bridge gap between world its macroscopic counterparts, nanoworld biological machinery.Reported date apparatuses consist multiple components single composition come together perform some work. step complex containing act tandem work surrounding environment. envision repurposing originally intended machine. Computationally, idea extensively explored; however, synthetically, there limited exploration. order implement existing key development combinatorial

Language: Английский

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Effect of Size Asymmetry of Latex Nanoparticles on Formation and Properties of Nanocolloidal Gels

Colloids and Interfaces, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 9(1), P. 11 - 11

Published: Jan. 28, 2025

The study of the fundamental principles gelation colloidal nanoparticles (NPs) advances understanding formation systems living organisms. In this paper, effect particle size for a binary system oppositely charged latexes on experimental parameters system, including region, rheological and cluster size, is considered first time. It shown that regions in phase diagrams asymmetric particles are symmetric with respect to ratio charge surface area particles. was found form denser gels compared same concentration symmetrical This work provides insight into NPs, which important numerous applications, their utilization as ink additive manufacturing scaffolds cell growth, well aspects bio-colloids.

Language: Английский

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Self-assembly of magnetic colloids under unsteady fields

Current Opinion in Colloid & Interface Science, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: unknown, P. 101903 - 101903

Published: Jan. 1, 2025

Language: Английский

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Nano-/Microrobots for Environmental Remediation in the Eyes of Nanoarchitectonics:

Research, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 8

Published: Jan. 1, 2025

Nano-/microrobots have been demonstrated as an efficient solution for environmental remediation. Their strength lies in their propulsion abilities that allow active “on-the-fly” operation, such pollutant detection, capture, transport, degradation, and disruption. Another advantage is versatility, which allows the engineering of highly functional solutions a specific application. However, latter can bring complexity to applications; versatility dimensionality, morphology, materials, surface decorations, other modifications has crucial effect on resulting abilities, compatibility with environment, overall functionality. Synergy between decorations its projection functionality object nanoarchitectonics. Here, we scrutinize nano-/microrobots eyes nanoarchitectonics: list general concepts help assess synergy limitations individual procedures fabrication processes operation at macroscale. The nanoarchitectonics approached from microscopic level, focusing dimensionality through nanoscopic evaluating influence decoration nanoparticles quantum dots, moving molecular single-atomic level very fine tuning presented review aims lay provide overview advanced nano-/microrobot remediation beyond.

Language: Английский

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