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Micromachines
Special Issues
Dream Nanomachines: Recent Advances in Nano/Micromotors
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Dream Nanomachines: Recent Advances in Nano/Micromotors

A special issue of Micromachines (ISSN 2072-666X). This special issue belongs to the section "E：Engineering and Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 10877

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Alexander A. Solovev

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Materials Science, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai 200433, China
Interests: nano/-micromotors; motion control; self-assembly; microfluidics; microcapsule; clean energy; clean air; clean water
Prof. Dr. Krishna Kanti Dey

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Physics Department, Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, Palaj, Gandhinagar 382355, India
Interests: chemically powered micro/nanomotors; collective and emergent dynamics of active biomolecules; microfluidics
Prof. Dr. Igor Aronson

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
Interests: active self-assembled materials; computational modeling of cell motility; collective behavior of bacteria in complex fluids

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Today, we observe a paradigm shift from static to dynamic nanotechnology. Over billions of years of evolution, biology invented real fluidic micromachines operating by the conversion of chemical to mechanical energy. Discovered autonomous nano/-micromotors represent a new microdevice class, which does not require any wires or physical joints. Nano-/micromotors convert local chemical energy or energy of the external fields (e.g., light, ultrasound, temperature, electromagnetic fields) into autonomous movements and pumping of fluids. Micromotors can effectively fight thermal fluctuations, high fluid viscosity at vanishing Reynolds numbers. Micromotors’ advantages include negligible inertia, ultrahigh surface to volume and strength to weight ratios, ultrafast relative motion, high efficiency, and precise positioning. Today, nano/-micromotors can cross existing disciplinary boundaries and open new horizons in biomimetic energy conversion, delivery of biomedical cargo, roving biosensors, cleaning of polluted water, and on-chip integration, to name a few examples. This Special Issue seeks to showcase research papers, communications, and review articles focus on: (1) novel fabrication methods of nano/-micromotors, (2) autonomous and externally-controlled motion, (3) collective motion emerging from the interaction of dynamic nano/-micromachines, and (4) new applications, such as environmental, biomedical, energy, and on-chip integration.

Prof. Dr. Alexander A. Solovev
Prof. Dr. Krishna Kanti Dey
Prof. Dr. Igor Aronson
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Micromachines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Nano/-micromotor

Autonomous

Motion control

Self-assembly

Environmental

Biomedical

Energy

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 6602 KiB  
Article
Air-Filled Microbubbles Based on Albumin Functionalized with Gold Nanocages and Zinc Phthalocyanine for Multimodal Imaging
by Elizaveta A. Maksimova, Roman A. Barmin, Polina G. Rudakovskaya, Olga A. Sindeeva, Ekaterina S. Prikhozhdenko, Alexey M. Yashchenok, Boris N. Khlebtsov, Alexander A. Solovev, Gaoshan Huang, Yongfeng Mei, Krishna Kanti Dey and Dmitry A. Gorin
Micromachines 2021, 12(10), 1161; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi12101161 - 27 Sep 2021
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2645
Abstract
Microbubbles are intravascular contrast agents clinically used in diagnostic sonography, echocardiography, and radiology imaging applications. However, up to date, the idea of creating microbubbles with multiple functionalities (e.g., multimodal imaging, photodynamic therapy) remained a challenge. One possible solution is the modification of bubble [...] Read more.
Microbubbles are intravascular contrast agents clinically used in diagnostic sonography, echocardiography, and radiology imaging applications. However, up to date, the idea of creating microbubbles with multiple functionalities (e.g., multimodal imaging, photodynamic therapy) remained a challenge. One possible solution is the modification of bubble shells by introducing specific compounds responsible for such functions. In the present work, air-core microbubbles with the shell consisting of bovine serum albumin, albumin-coated gold nanocages, and zinc phthalocyanine were prepared using the sonication method. Various physicochemical parameters such as stability over time, size, and concentration were investigated to prove the potential use of these microbubbles as contrast agents. This work shows that hybrid microbubbles have all the necessary properties for multimodal imaging (ultrasound, raster-scanning microscopy, and fluorescence tomography), which demonstrate superior characteristics for potential theranostic and related biomedical applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dream Nanomachines: Recent Advances in Nano/Micromotors)
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Review

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18 pages, 3652 KiB  
Review
Nano/Micromotors in Active Matter
by Chenglin Lv, Yuguang Yang and Bo Li
Micromachines 2022, 13(2), 307; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi13020307 - 17 Feb 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2404
Abstract
Nano/micromotors (NMMs) are tiny objects capable of converting energy into mechanical motion. Recently, a wealth of active matter including synthetic colloids, cytoskeletons, bacteria, and cells have been used to construct NMMs. The self-sustained motion of active matter drives NMMs out of equilibrium, giving [...] Read more.
Nano/micromotors (NMMs) are tiny objects capable of converting energy into mechanical motion. Recently, a wealth of active matter including synthetic colloids, cytoskeletons, bacteria, and cells have been used to construct NMMs. The self-sustained motion of active matter drives NMMs out of equilibrium, giving rise to rich dynamics and patterns. Alongside the spontaneous dynamics, external stimuli such as geometric confinements, light, magnetic field, and chemical potential are also harnessed to control the movements of NMMs, yielding new application paradigms of active matter. Here, we review the recent advances, both experimental and theoretical, in exploring biological NMMs. The unique dynamical features of collective NMMs are focused on, along with some possible applications of these intriguing systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dream Nanomachines: Recent Advances in Nano/Micromotors)
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25 pages, 3321 KiB  
Review
Oxygen Generation Using Catalytic Nano/Micromotors
by Sumayyah Naeem, Farah Naeem, Jawayria Mujtaba, Ashish Kumar Shukla, Shirsendu Mitra, Gaoshan Huang, Larisa Gulina, Polina Rudakovskaya, Jizhai Cui, Valeri Tolstoy, Dmitry Gorin, Yongfeng Mei, Alexander A. Solovev and Krishna Kanti Dey
Micromachines 2021, 12(10), 1251; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi12101251 - 15 Oct 2021
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 4735
Abstract
Gaseous oxygen plays a vital role in driving the metabolism of living organisms and has multiple agricultural, medical, and technological applications. Different methods have been discovered to produce oxygen, including plants, oxygen concentrators and catalytic reactions. However, many such approaches are relatively expensive, [...] Read more.
Gaseous oxygen plays a vital role in driving the metabolism of living organisms and has multiple agricultural, medical, and technological applications. Different methods have been discovered to produce oxygen, including plants, oxygen concentrators and catalytic reactions. However, many such approaches are relatively expensive, involve challenges, complexities in post-production processes or generate undesired reaction products. Catalytic oxygen generation using hydrogen peroxide is one of the simplest and cleanest methods to produce oxygen in the required quantities. Chemically powered micro/nanomotors, capable of self-propulsion in liquid media, offer convenient and economic platforms for on-the-fly generation of gaseous oxygen on demand. Micromotors have opened up opportunities for controlled oxygen generation and transport under complex conditions, critical medical diagnostics and therapy. Mobile oxygen micro-carriers help better understand the energy transduction efficiencies of micro/nanoscopic active matter by careful selection of catalytic materials, fuel compositions and concentrations, catalyst surface curvatures and catalytic particle size, which opens avenues for controllable oxygen release on the level of a single catalytic microreactor. This review discusses various micro/nanomotor systems capable of functioning as mobile oxygen generators while highlighting their features, efficiencies and application potentials in different fields. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dream Nanomachines: Recent Advances in Nano/Micromotors)
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