Title : The construction and application of photoactivated polymer colloidal motors
Abstract:
Artificial colloidal motors are self-propelled tiny machines that mainly rely on chemically or physically responsive components working as kinetic systems for converting external energy into mechanical motion. This stimulus-responsive self-propelled locomotion would effectively strengthen the material performance in various applications, including drug delivery, sensing, imaging and environmental remediation. In the last decades, considerable efforts have been made to develop advanced kinetic systems of colloidal motors for programmable manipulation and precise modulation of mechanical work. In the presentation, we will introduce the design and development of photoactivated polymer colloidal motors, which would carry out autonomous movement powered by photo-responsive energy conversion (e.g. photocatalytic reaction, photothermal conversion, photoisomerization, etc.) within polymer components in response to photoirradiation. Thanks to the great flexibility of polymers in structures, properties and functions, the polymer-based colloidal motors allow on-demand programming various energy-converting behaviors (e.g. mono-mode, multimode sequential, multimode synergistic, etc.) within the materials, regulating the motile features of the colloidal motors for various sophisticated applications. In contrast to conventional heavy metal-made colloidal motors, these biocompatible polymer ones show great advantages in biomedical applications. The non-invasive and penetrative light-driven self-propelled delivery would endow the motors with high permeability against biological barriers in the solid tumor microenvironment to promote tumor accumulation, deep tumor penetration and cellular uptake, improving the delivery of nanomedicines. Besides, the light-driven energy conversion within the materials would also modulate the physiological microenvironment of the solid tumor (e.g. hypoxia, interstitial fluid pressure, etc.) for facilitating the antitumor therapy. Combining all these benefits, the photoactivated polymer colloidal motors would significantly enhance the antitumor efficacy.
Audience Take-Away:
- Recent progress in photoactivated polymer colloidal motors.
- The motile mechanisms of polymer colloidal motors in response to photoirradiation.
- Potential applications of photoactivated polymer colloidal motors.
