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Zhu S, Xie G, Cui H, Li Q, Forth J, Yuan S, Tian J, Pan Y, Guo W, Chai Y, Zhang Y, Yang Z, Yu RWH, Yu Y, Liu S, Chao Y, Shen Y, Zhao S, Russell TP, Shum HC. Aquabots. ACS Nano 2022; 16:13761-13770. [PMID: 35904791 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.2c00619] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Soft robots, made from elastomers, easily bend and flex, but deformability constraints severely limit navigation through and within narrow, confined spaces. Using aqueous two-phase systems we print water-in-water constructs that, by aqueous phase-separation-induced self-assembly, produce ultrasoft liquid robots, termed aquabots, comprised of hierarchical structures that span in length scale from the nanoscopic to microsciopic, that are beyond the resolution limits of printing and overcome the deformability barrier. The exterior of the compartmentalized membranes is easily functionalized, for example, by binding enzymes, catalytic nanoparticles, and magnetic nanoparticles that impart sensitive magnetic responsiveness. These ultrasoft aquabots can adapt their shape for gripping and transporting objects and can be used for targeted photocatalysis, delivery, and release in confined and tortuous spaces. These biocompatible, multicompartmental, and multifunctional aquabots can be readily applied to medical micromanipulation, targeted cargo delivery, tissue engineering, and biomimetics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shipei Zhu
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, (SAR), Hong Kong, P. R. China
| | - Ganhua Xie
- Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley 94720, California, United States
- College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, P. R. China
| | - Huanqing Cui
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, (SAR), Hong Kong, P. R. China
| | - Qingchuan Li
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, (SAR), Hong Kong, P. R. China
- School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, National Engineering Research Center for Colloidal Materials, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, P. R. China
| | - Joe Forth
- Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley 94720, California, United States
- Department of Chemistry, University College London, London WC1H 0AJ, United Kingdom
| | - Shuai Yuan
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, (SAR), Hong Kong, P. R. China
| | - Jingxuan Tian
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, (SAR), Hong Kong, P. R. China
| | - Yi Pan
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, (SAR), Hong Kong, P. R. China
| | - Wei Guo
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, (SAR), Hong Kong, P. R. China
| | - Yu Chai
- Department of Physics, The City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong 999077, P. R. China
| | - Yage Zhang
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, (SAR), Hong Kong, P. R. China
| | - Zhenyu Yang
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, (SAR), Hong Kong, P. R. China
| | - Ryan Wing Hei Yu
- Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1PZ, U.K
| | - Yafeng Yu
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, (SAR), Hong Kong, P. R. China
| | - Sihan Liu
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, (SAR), Hong Kong, P. R. China
- Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, P. R. China
| | - Youchuang Chao
- Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Göttingen 37077, Germany
| | - Yinan Shen
- Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge 02138, Massachusetts, United States
| | - Sai Zhao
- Department of Physics, The City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong 999077, P. R. China
| | - Thomas P Russell
- Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley 94720, California, United States
- Polymer Science and Engineering Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst 01003, Massachusetts, United States
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, P. R. China
- WPI-Advanced Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577, Japan
| | - Ho Cheung Shum
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, (SAR), Hong Kong, P. R. China
- Advanced Biomedical Instrumentation Centre, Hong Kong Science Park, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong 999077, (SAR), Hong Kong, P. R. China
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