MOFBOTS: Metal–Organic‐Framework‐Based Biomedical Microrobots

• DOI: 10.1002/adma.201901592
• Publication Date: 2019-05-06T20:28:47Z
• Authors: Xiaopu Wang; Xiang‐Zhong Chen; Carlos C. J. Alcâ...; Semih Sevim; Marcus Hoop; Anastasia Terzopo...; Carmela de Marco; Chengzhi Hu; Andrew J. de Mello; Paolo Falcaro; Shuhei Furukawa; Bradley J. Nelson; Josep Puigmartí‐Luis; Salvador Pané
• Keywords: Micromachines; 02 engineering and technology; Drug delivery; Metal–organic frameworks; Micromachines; pH-responsive materials; ZIF-8; Mice; Nickel; Cell Line, Tumor; Animals; Humans; Metal-Organic Frameworks; Fluorescent Dyes; Titanium; Drug Carriers; Metal–organic frameworks; Rhodamines; Imidazoles; pH-responsive materials; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Zinc; Magnetic Fields; Drug delivery; Magnets; Zeolites; 0210 nano-technology; ZIF-8

AbstractMotile metal−organic frameworks (MOFs) are potential candidates to serve as small‐scale robotic platforms for applications in environmental remediation, targeted drug delivery, or nanosurgery. Here, magnetic helical microstructures coated with a kind of zinc‐based MOF, zeolitic imidazole framework‐8 (ZIF‐8), with biocompatibility characteristics and pH‐responsive features, are successfully fabricated. Moreover, it is shown that this highly integrated multifunctional device can swim along predesigned tracks under the control of weak rotational magnetic fields. The proposed systems can achieve single‐cell targeting in a cell culture media and a controlled delivery of cargo payloads inside a complex microfluidic channel network. This new approach toward the fabrication of integrated multifunctional systems will open new avenues in soft microrobotics beyond current applications.