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 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.
Highlights
In virtue of multiple experimental systems such as the oil–water interface [15], flow cell [16] and cover slip [17], reconstructed cytoskeletal filaments (RCFs) systems exhibit a myriad of dynamic behaviors
NMM, micro-shuttles and micro-gears act as motors, and bacteria rived from the nonequilibrium asymmetry open way to assemble bacterium-driven propel whole NMMsand by colliding with the the motors
For self-propulsion red blood cells (RBCs)-based NMMs, RBCs are assembled with bacteria into hybrid NMMs, in which bacteria provide propulsion force and RBCs are responsible for loading cargos
Summary
Active matter can transform ambient or stored energy into movement and drive the whole systems out of equilibrium [6,7] This property endows active matter systems with rich collective behaviors, which can be harnessed to design and fabricate NMMs. Common active matter includes animal groups moving collectively, reconstructed cytoskeletal filaments (RCFs), bacterial suspensions, cell tissues and artificial systems from self-propelled colloidal particles to robotic swarms [8,9]. Bacteria exhibit coupling of random fluctuation and active motion [6] These self-propelled Brownian particles can drive passive objects to move in suspensions [11] and show directed motion on an asymmetry base [12].
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