ACS Nano
·
2022
·
IF 18.027
Hui Chen,Yibin Wang,Yuezhen Liu,Qian Zou,Jiangfan Yu
Sensing of key parameters in fluidic environments has attracted extensive attention because the physical features of body fluids could be used for point-of-care disease diagnosis. Although various sensing methods have been investigated, effective sensing strategies of microenvironments remains a major challenge. In this paper, we propose an approach that can realize sensing of fluidic viscosity and ionic strength using microswarms formed by simple colloidal nanoparticles. The influences of fluidic ionic strength and viscosity on two swarm behaviors are analyzed (i.e., the spreading of circular vortex-like swarms and the elongation of elliptical swarms). The data models for quantifying the fluidic viscosity and ionic strength are obtained from experiments, and the fluidic features can be sensed successfully using the swarm behaviors. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the microswarms have the capability of passing through tortuous and narrow microchannels for sensing. Continuous sensing of different fluidic environments using swarms is also realized. Finally, the sensing of viscosity and ionic strength of porcine whole blood is presented, which also validates the feasibility of the sensing strategy.
研究领域:
生物医学工程
·
纳米技术
·
诊断学
✓ 已验证
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
ACS Nano
·
2020
·
IF 14.588
Fengtong Ji,Dongdong Jin,Ben Wang,Li Zhang
Swarm behaviors are nature’s strategies for performing cooperative work, and extensive research has been aimed at emulating these strategies in engineering systems. However, the implementation of vertical motion and construction of a 3D structure are still challenging. Herein, we propose a simple strategy for creating a hybrid-driven paramagnetic tornado-like microswarm in an aqueous solution by integrating the use of a magnetic field and light. The precession of a magnetic field results in in-plane rotation, and light promotes the conversion of a planar microswarm to a microswarm tornado, thus realizing the transition from 2D to 3D patterns. This 3D microswarm is capable of performing reversible, vertical mass transportation. The reconfigurable collective behavior of the swarm from 2D to 3D motion consists of rising, hovering, oscillation, and landing stages. Moreover, this 3D tornado-like microswarm is capable of controlling the chemical reaction rate of the liquid in which it is deployed, for example, the degradation of methylene blue. The experimental results unveil that the tornado-like microswarm can enhance the overall degradation while holding the reactant nearby and inside it because of the flow difference between near and far regions of the microswarm tornado. Furthermore, by applying an oscillating magnetic field, the 3D microswarm can process the trapped methylene blue for on-demand degradation. The microswarm tornado is demonstrated to provide a method for collective vertical transportation and inspire ideas for mimicking 3D swarm behaviors in order to apply the functional performance to biomedical, catalytic, and micro-/nanoengineering applications.
研究领域:
生物工程
·
纳米技术
·
化学工程
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
ACS Nano
·
2019
·
IF 13.903
Dongdong Jin,Jiangfan Yu,Ke Yuan,Li Zhang
In nature, social insects are capable of self-organizing into various sophisticated and functional structures through local communications, which facilitate their cooperative accomplishment of complex tasks that are beyond the capabilities of individuals. Emulating this collective behavior in artificial robotic systems promises benefits in various engineering fields and has been partially realized through elaborate algorithm and physical designs. However, developing a swarm robotic system with group-level functionality at small scales remains a challenge. Herein, a microswarm system that mimics the structure and function of an ant bridge is realized by employing functionalized magnetite nanoparticles, which are paramagnetic and electrically conductive, as the building blocks. Through the application of a programmed oscillating magnetic field, the building blocks are reconfigured into a ribbon-like microswarm, which can perform reversible elongation with a high aspect ratio and, thus, is capable of constructing a conductive pathway for electrons between two disconnected electrodes with the bodies of functionalized nanoparticles. Furthermore, the microswarm is demonstrated to serve as a microswitch, repair broken microcircuits, and constitute flexible circuits, exhibiting a promising future for the practical applications in the electronics field.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
生物启发工程
·
电子工程
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
ACS Nano
·
2021
·
IF 15.881
Yue Dong,Lu Wang,Ke Yuan,Fengtong Ji,Jinhong Gao,Zifeng Zhang,Xingzhou Du,Yuan Tian,Qianqian Wang,Li Zhang
Biofilm is difficult to thoroughly cure with conventional antibiotics due to the high mechanical stability and antimicrobial barrier resulting from extracellular polymeric substances. Encouraged by the great potential of magnetic micro-/nanorobots in various fields and their enhanced action in swarm form, we designed a magnetic microswarm consisting of porous Fe3O4 mesoparticles (p-Fe3O4 MPs) and explored its application in biofilm disruption. Here, the p-Fe3O4 MPs microswarm (p-Fe3O4 swarm) was generated and actuated by a simple rotating magnetic field, which exhibited the capability of remote actuation, high cargo capacity, and strong localized convections. Notably, the p-Fe3O4 swarm could eliminate biofilms with high efficiency due to synergistic effects of chemical and physical processes: (i) generating bactericidal free radicals (•OH) for killing bacteria cells and degrading the biofilm by p-Fe3O4 MPs; (ii) physically disrupting the biofilm and promoting •OH penetration deep into biofilms by the swarm motion. As a demonstration of targeted treatment, the p-Fe3O4 swarm could be actuated to clear the biofilm along the geometrical route on a 2D surface and sweep away biofilm clogs in a 3D U-shaped tube. This designed microswarm platform holds great potential in treating biofilm occlusions particularly inside the tiny and tortuous cavities of medical and industrial settings.
研究领域:
医学工程
·
微生物学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
Chemistry-An Asian Journal
·
2022
·Vol. 17
·期 17
·e202200561
·
IF 4.839
Zhanxiang Zhang,Haocheng Wang,Hua Yang,Wenping Song,Lizhou Dai,Shimin Yu,Xuejia Liu,Tianlong Li
Graphical In this article, a reconfigurable and mobile magnetic microswarm as MRI contrast enhancer was investigated experimentally and numerically. By changing motion mode, it could adaptively navigate multiple terrains. Furthermore, we demonstrated this microswarm performed great enhancement of MRI imaging. This microswarm held great promise for highly sensitive and accurate intestinal MRI in the clinic. Highly effective contrast enhancer that processes targeting ability and maneuverability is in great demand in clinics for accurate diagnosis. Here a new strategy using deformable and manipulatable magnetic microswarm as MRI contrast enhancer is developed. Magnetic microswarm aggregated from nanoparticles is inherently deformable and they can be controlled with multiple programmable deform abilities. It is demonstrated that spatiotemporal programming magnetic field enables the magnetic microswarm not only to exhibit both ribbon-like and round-like behaviours but also to adaptively navigate multiple terrains. Intestinal model is conducted to explore the effect of magnetic microswarm as MRI enhancer, indicating the obvious enhancement of T 2 -weighted MRI sequences. This magnetic microswarm holds great promise for highly sensitive and accurate intestinal MRI in the clinic.
研究领域:
医学影像学
·
纳米医学
·
生物工程
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
·
2020
·Vol. 30
·期 16
·1908602
·
IF 16.836
Xiong Liang,Fangzhi Mou,Zhen Huang,Jianhua Zhang,Ming You,Leilei Xu,Ming Luo,Jianguo Guan
Swarming micro/nanomotors can self-organize into cohesive groups to execute cooperative tasks. To date, research work has focused on the construction of egalitarian microswarms composed of similar individuals. The construction and collective behaviors of hierarchical leader–follower-like microswarms are demonstrated. By inducing converging electrohydrodynamic flows under an AC electric field, dielectric microparticles with different sizes and dielectric properties can hierarchically self-organize into leader–follower-like microswarms under attractive electrohydrodynamic interactions, and show novel emergent collective behaviors. First, different from immobile single constituents or egalitarian clusters, the hierarchical microswarms autonomously move with tunable speed. Second, they exhibit multimode collective photoresponses emerging from different behaviors of the constituents in response to light signals. With a vertical UV signal, the photoresponsive followers tend to surround the leader and stop the microswarm. In response to sidewise UV signals, the constituents with stronger phototaxis would migrate to the position away from light stimuli, and thus the microswarms reorient parallel/antiparallel to the light direction and perform collective positive/negative phototaxis. Due to differential roles and huge design spaces of constituents, the hierarchical microswarms are envisioned to possess merits of high-efficiency, multiresponsiveness, and multifunctions, and may serve as intelligent micro/nanorobot systems for biomedicine and microengineering.
研究领域:
微纳米机器人
·
生物医学工程
·
材料科学
✓ 已验证
DOI
高影响因子
Advanced Healthcare Materials
·
2024
·
IF 10
Ziheng Chen,Hui Chen,Kaiwen Fang,Na Liu,Jiangfan Yu
Magnetic microswarms capable of performing navigation to targeted lesions show great potential for in vivo medical applications. However, using the swarms for lesion cavity filling encounters challenges from precise delivery and sealing. Herein, this work develops a magneto-thermal hydrogel swarm consisting of magnetic hydrogel particles, which can perform phase transition induced by temperature change. The particles are prepared using a temperature-responsive hydrogel matrix, tissue adhesive monomers, and magnetic microparticles. The swarms can be remolded to various shapes, and it can be used to seal perforation in phantom and gastric tissue. The swarms can also serve as drug carriers, and their drug release profiles induced by temperature changes are characterized. Finally, the targeted delivery, adaptive filling, and sealing of a gastric ulcer using the swarms are achieved in ex vivo and in vivo environments.
研究领域:
生物医学工程
·
材料科学
·
医疗机器人
·
组织工程
✓ 已验证
DOI
高影响因子
ADVANCED MATERIALS
·
2021
·Vol. 33
·期 37
·2100070
·
IF 30.849
Dongdong Jin,Ke Yuan,Xingzhou Du,Qianqian Wang,Shijie Wang,Li Zhang
Emulating natural swarm intelligence with group-level functionality in artificial micro/nanorobotic systems offers an opportunity to sublimate the limited functions of individuals and revolutionize their applications. However, achieving synchronous operation of microswarms with environmental adaptability and cooperative tasking capability remains a challenge. Here, an adaptive and heterogeneous colloidal magnetic microswarm with domino reaction encoded cooperative functions is presented. Through programming external magnetic fields, the system self-organizes into two swarm states, that is, vortex and ribbon microswarms, which can switch between each other reversibly within seconds, allowing to traverse tortuous, branched, and confined environments through adaptive morphological transformation. By specializing subgroups of building blocks with separate functions, cooperative tasking capability is integrated into the heterogeneous system following a “division of labor” manner. Given targeted therapy as a proof-of-concept task, the coordinated delivery of heterogeneous colloidal system across a complex environment with an access rate higher than 90% is demonstrated, and the specialization and cooperation between building blocks to disrupt multiple growth pathways of cancer cells via domino reaction are realized. The reconfigurable microswarm with hierarchical functionality presents a bioinspired approach to adapt to environmental variations and address multitasking requirements, which advances the development of microrobotic swarms and promises major benefits in biomedical fields.
研究领域:
微/纳机器人技术
·
生物医学工程
·
材料科学
·
群体智能
✓ 已验证
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
ADVANCED MATERIALS
·
2022
·Vol. 34
·期 34
·2201888
·
IF 32.086
Mengmeng Sun,Kai Fung Chan,Zifeng Zhang,Lu Wang,Qinglong Wang,Shihao Yang,Shannon Melissa Chan,Philip Wai Yan Chiu,Joseph Jao Yiu Sung,Li Zhang
Biofilm eradication from medical implants is of fundamental importance, and the treatment of biofilm-associated pathogen infections on inaccessible biliary stents remains challenging. Magnetically driven microrobots with controlled motility, accessibility to the tiny lumen, and swarm enhancement effects can physically disrupt the deleterious biostructures while not developing drug resistance. Magnetic urchin-like capsule robots (MUCRs) loaded with magnetic liquid metal droplets (MLMDs, antibacterial agents) are designed using natural sunflower pollen, and the therapeutic effect of swarming MUCR@MLMDs is explored for eradicating complex mixtures of bacterial biofilm within biliary stents collected from patients. The external magnetic field triggers the emergence of the microswarm and induces MLMDs to transform their shape into spheroids and rods with sharp edges. The inherent natural microspikes of MUCRs and the obtained sharp edges of MLMDs actively rupture the dense biological matrix and multiple species of embedded bacterial cells by exerting mechanical force, finally achieving synergistic biofilm eradication. The microswarm is precisely and rapidly deployed into the biliary stent via endoscopy in 10 min. Notably, fluoroscopy imaging is used to track and navigate the locomotion of microswarm in biliary stents in real-time. The microswarm has great potential for treating bacterial biofilm infections associated with medical implants.
研究领域:
生物医学工程
·
微型机器人技术
·
传染病学
·
医学影像
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
危险品化学品经营许可证（带存储）