The State Key Laboratory of Robotics and Systems, Harbin Institute of Technology, 2 Yikuang, Harbin 150080, P. R. China.
Nanoscale. 2019 Oct 10;11(39):18382-18392. doi: 10.1039/c9nr06221a.
Recent progress of untethered mobile micromotors has shown immense potential for targeted drug delivery in vivo. However, designing a wireless micromotor with high maneuverability and biocompatibility and achieving controlled drug release with high efficiency at a specific position remains a great challenge. Herein, we present a pine pollen-based micromotor (PPBM) and demonstrate its potential application as a cargo carrier for targeted drug delivery. These multifunctional biohybrid micromotors were massively and inexpensively fabricated by the encapsulation of magnetic particles (Fe3O4) and medicine into the two hollow air sacs of pine pollen, via vacuum loading. PPBMs successfully inherit the intrinsic functionalities of pine pollen: structural uniformity, morphological stability, biocompatibility, autofluorescence (AF) and physicochemical robustness. Under an external magnetic field, the loaded Fe3O4 enables individual and swarm PPBMs to propel precisely in complex biological fluids. Capitalizing on the magnetic nanoparticle aggregation phenomenon under a powerful magnetic field, controlled release of the therapeutic cargo is achieved using a fluid field generated by the rotating magnetic agglomerate. The biohybrid micromotors reported here turn natural pine pollen into active and controllable cargo carriers for biomedical applications.
无缆移动微马达的最新进展显示了其在体内靶向药物输送方面的巨大潜力。然而，设计一种具有高机动性和生物相容性的无线微马达，并在特定位置实现高效的控制药物释放仍然是一个巨大的挑战。在这里，我们提出了一种基于松花粉的微马达（PPBM），并展示了其作为靶向药物输送载体的潜在应用。这些多功能生物杂交微马达是通过真空装载将磁性颗粒（Fe3O4）和药物封装到松花粉的两个中空气囊中大规模、廉价地制造的。PPBM 成功地继承了松花粉的固有功能：结构均匀性、形态稳定性、生物相容性、自发荧光（AF）和物理化学稳定性。在外磁场的作用下，负载的 Fe3O4 使单个和群体的 PPBM 能够在复杂的生物流体中精确推进。利用强磁场下磁性纳米颗粒聚集的现象，通过旋转磁团聚体产生的流场实现治疗货物的控制释放。这里报道的生物杂交微马达将天然松花粉转化为用于生物医学应用的主动可控货物载体。
