Title
Swarming Aqua Sperm Micromotors for Active Bacterial Biofilms Removal in Confined Spaces
Date Issued
01 October 2021
Access level
open access
Resource Type
review
Author(s)
Zelenka J.
Grmela J.
Michalkova H.
Ruml T.
Mareš J.
Pumera M.
University of Chemistry and Technology Prague
Publisher(s)
John Wiley and Sons Inc
Abstract
Microscale self-propelled robots show great promise in the biomedical field and are the focus of many researchers. These tiny devices, which move and navigate by themselves, are typically based on inorganic microstructures that are not biodegradable and potentially toxic, often using toxic fuels or elaborate external energy sources, which limits their real-world applications. One potential solution to these issues is to go back to nature. Here, the authors use high-speed Aqua Sperm micromotors obtained from North African catfish (Clarias gariepinus, B. 1822) to destroy bacterial biofilm. These Aqua Sperm micromotors use water-induced dynein ATPase catalyzed adenosine triphosphate (ATP) degradation as biocompatible fuel to trigger their fast speed and snake-like undulatory locomotion that facilitate biofilm destruction in less than one minute. This efficient biofilm destruction is due to the ultra-fast velocity as well as the head size of Aqua Sperm micromotors being similar to bacteria, which facilitates their entry to and navigation within the biofilm matrix. In addition, the authors demonstrate the real-world application of Aqua Sperm micromotors by destroying biofilms that had colonized medical and laboratory tubing. The implemented system extends the biomedical application of Aqua Sperm micromotors to include hybrid robots for fertilization or cargo tasks.
Volume
8
Issue
19
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Tecnología médica de laboratorio (análisis de muestras, tecnologías para el diagnóstico)
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85112629392
PubMed ID
Source
Advanced Science
Source funding
European Research Council
Sponsor(s)
This work was supported by the project “Advanced Functional Nanorobots” (reg. No. CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/15_003/0000444 financed by the EFRR), the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic (NU21‐08‐00407) and Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (Czech Republic) grant LL2002 under ERC CZ program. J.Z. and T.R. were supported by grant no. 21–16084 J from the Czech Science Foundation. Authors thank Ms. Michaela Kubáňová for the cultivation of bacteria.
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus