Li Tongtao, Chan Kwok Hoe, Ding Tianpeng, Wang Xiao-Qiao, Cheng Yin, Zhang Chen, Lu Wanheng, Yilmaz Gamze, Qiu Cheng-Wei, Ho Ghim Wei
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, 4 Engineering Drive 3, Singapore 117583, Singapore.
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National University of Singapore, 9 Engineering Drive 1, Singapore 117575, Singapore.
Sci Adv. 2021 Jan 6;7(2). doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abe3184. Print 2021 Jan.
Bioinspired nano/microswarm enables fascinating collective controllability beyond the abilities of the constituent individuals, yet almost invariably, the composed units are of single species. Advancing such swarm technologies poses a grand challenge in synchronous mass manipulation of multimaterials that hold different physiochemical identities. Here, we present a dynamic thermal trapping strategy using thermoresponsive-based magnetic smart nanoparticles as host species to reversibly trap and couple given nonmagnetic entities in aqueous surroundings, enabling cross-species smart nanoparticle swarms (SMARS). Such trapping process endows unaddressable nonmagnetic species with efficient thermo-switchable magnetic response, which determines SMARS' cross-species synchronized maneuverability. Benefiting from collective merits of hybrid components, SMARS can be configured into specific smart modules spanning from chain, vesicle, droplet, to ionic module, which can implement localized or distributed functions that are single-species unachievable. Our methodology allows dynamic multimaterials integration despite the odds of their intrinsic identities to conceive distinctive structures and functions.
受生物启发的纳米/微群体展现出超越其组成个体能力的迷人集体可控性，但几乎无一例外，所组成的单元都是单一物种。推进此类群体技术在对具有不同物理化学特性的多种材料进行同步大规模操控方面构成了巨大挑战。在此，我们提出一种动态热捕获策略，使用基于热响应的磁性智能纳米粒子作为主体物种，在水性环境中可逆地捕获并耦合特定的非磁性实体，从而实现跨物种智能纳米粒子群体（SMARS）。这种捕获过程赋予无法单独操控的非磁性物种高效的热开关磁响应，这决定了SMARS的跨物种同步机动性。受益于混合组件的集体优点，SMARS可以配置成从链状、囊泡状、液滴状到离子模块等特定的智能模块，这些模块可以实现单一物种无法实现的局部或分布式功能。我们的方法允许动态整合多种材料，尽管它们具有内在特性差异，却能构思出独特的结构和功能。
