Recent Advances in Nano‐ and Micromotors

Nano‐ and micromotors are fascinating objects that can navigate in complex fluidic environments. Their active motion can be triggered by external power sources or they can exhibit self‐propulsion using fuel extracted from their surroundings. The research field is rapidly evolving and has produced nano/micromotors of different geometrical designs, exploiting a variety of mechanisms of locomotion, being capable of achieving remarkable speeds in diverse environments ranging from simple aqueous solutions to complex media including cell cultures or animal tissue. This review aims to provide an overview of the recent developments with focus on predominantly experimental demonstrations of the various motor designs developed in the past 24 months. First, externally driven motors are discussed followed by considering fuel‐driven approaches. Finally, a short future perspective is provided.

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[74]  M. Rajabi,et al.  Self‐motile swimmers: Ultrasound driven spherical model , 2018, Ultrasonics.

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[102]  Tailin Xu,et al.  Enteric Micromotor Can Selectively Position and Spontaneously Propel in the Gastrointestinal Tract. , 2016, ACS nano.

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[104]  I. Imaz,et al.  Introducing asymmetric functionality into MOFs via the generation of metallic Janus MOF particles. , 2016, Chemical communications.

[105]  Samuel Sánchez,et al.  Motion Control of Urea-Powered Biocompatible Hollow Microcapsules. , 2016, ACS nano.

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[107]  Marlies Nijemeisland,et al.  Dynamic Loading and Unloading of Proteins in Polymeric Stomatocytes: Formation of an Enzyme-Loaded Supramolecular Nanomotor. , 2016, ACS nano.

[108]  M. Pumera,et al.  Influence of pH on the Motion of Catalytic Janus Particles and Tubular Bubble-Propelled Micromotors. , 2016, Chemistry.

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[111]  Brigitte Städler,et al.  Enhanced Diffusion of Glucose-Fueled Janus Particles , 2015 .

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[113]  Wei Li,et al.  Single-Component TiO2 Tubular Microengines with Motion Controlled by Light-Induced Bubbles. , 2015, Small.

[114]  Fei Li,et al.  A Force to Be Reckoned With: A Review of Synthetic Microswimmers Powered by Ultrasound. , 2015, Small.

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[116]  Samuel Sánchez,et al.  Chemically powered micro- and nanomotors. , 2015, Angewandte Chemie.

[117]  Muhammad Safdar,et al.  Bubble-propelled trimetallic microcaps as functional catalytic micromotors , 2015 .

[118]  Liangfang Zhang,et al.  Artificial Micromotors in the Mouse’s Stomach: A Step toward in Vivo Use of Synthetic Motors , 2014, ACS nano.

[119]  M. Pumera,et al.  Tissue cell assisted fabrication of tubular catalytic platinum microengines. , 2014, Nanoscale.

[120]  M. Vallet‐Regí,et al.  Improving catalase-based propelled motor endurance by enzyme encapsulation. , 2014, Nanoscale.

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[125]  Samuel Sanchez,et al.  Stimuli-Responsive Microjets with Reconfigurable Shape , 2014, Angewandte Chemie.

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