Biocatalytic self-propelled submarine-like metal-organic framework microparticles with pH-triggered buoyancy control for directional vertical motion
Biocatalytic self-propelled submarine-like metal-organic framework microparticles with pH-triggered buoyancy control for directional vertical motion
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DOI：
10.1016/j.mattod.2019.04.022
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发表时间：
2019-09-01
期刊：
影响因子：
24.2
通讯作者：
Liang, Kang
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Guo, Ziyi;Wang, Tao;Liang, Kang
自行式化学发动机在从纳米医学到环境修复的应用方面有着巨大的前景。然而，按需控制其方向运动的策略仍然是智能电机系统开发在现实世界应用中实现的主要挑战之一。在这里，我们首次报道了一种新型的潜水式微电机的设计，它能够通过pH调节浮力控制在厘米尺度上进行定向垂直运动。在pH响应型亲水/疏水相移聚合物的帮助下，生物催化金属-有机骨架微马达产生的气泡可以可逆地从微马达中保留/排出，导致浮力控制的垂直上升或下降运动。重要的是，抗癌药物载药微马达对三维细胞培养显示出定向细胞毒性，这取决于细胞环境的pH值。我们希望这项研究将为设计化学马达的定向推进机制开辟新的途径，展示出在复杂生物环境中作为自主机器人的潜力。
Self-propelled chemical motors have found vast promise for applications from nanomedicine to environmental remediation. However, strategies for controlling their directional motion on demand still represents one of the major challenges for the development of smart motor systems to be realized in real-world applications. Here, we report for the first time the design of a novel submarine-like micromotor that is capable of directional vertical motion on centimeter scale by pH-regulated buoyancy control. With the aid of a pH-responsive, hydrophilic/hydrophobic phase-shifting polymer, gas bubbles produced by the biocatalytic metal-organic framework micromotors can be reversibly retained/expelled from the micromotors, leading to the buoyancy-controlled ascending or descending vertical motion. Importantly, anti-cancer drug-loaded micromotors showed directional cytotoxicity to three-dimensional cell cultures, depending on the pH of the cellular environment. We expect this study will open up new avenues for designing directional propulsion mechanisms for chemical motors, showing potential as autonomous robotics for in vivo delivery in complex biological environments.