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Review
. 2020 Mar 30;40(3):445-452.
doi: 10.12122/j.issn.1673-4254.2020.03.25.

[Application of self-propelled micro-/nanomotors in active targeted drug delivery]

[Article in Chinese]
Meihuan Liu  1 , Binbin Tu  2 , Lu Liu  1 , Bin Chen  1 , Yingfeng Tu  1
Affiliations
Review

[Application of self-propelled micro-/nanomotors in active targeted drug delivery]

[Article in Chinese]
Meihuan Liu et al. Nan Fang Yi Ke Da Xue Xue Bao. .

Abstract
in English, Chinese

As a new type of micro-/nanomachines, self-propelled micro-/nanomotors (MNMs) can convert chemical or external energies from the surrounding environment into mechanical forces to produce autonomous motion. The ability of autonomous movement allows these MNMs to move actively to the targeted locations, and thus confers great potentials on the MNMs for applications in biomedicine, especially in drug delivery. MNMs have been shown to effectively load therapeutic payloads for active delivery to the disease site, which greatly improves the therapeutic efficacy and reduces side effects compared with the traditional nanodrugs. In this review, we provide an overview of different propulsion mechanisms of MNMs, including chemical propulsion based on redox reaction and external field propulsion driven by external energy such as light, magnetic field, electric field and ultrasound, followed by a review of the recent progress in active drug delivery based on MNMs in the past decade. We also discuss the current challenges and future perspectives of the application of the MNMs.

自驱动微纳米马达（MNMs）是一种能够将周围环境中的化学能或者外部能量转化为机械动能从而产生自主运动的新型人造微纳米机器。基于其自主运动能力，这些微纳米马达能够自主地运动到目标位置，因此在生物医学方面展现出了广阔的应用前景，尤其是在药物递送领域。研究证明微纳米马达能够有效地进行药物的装载并主动地递送至病灶区域，因此与常规纳米药物载体相比，能够更大限度地提高疗效并同时降低毒副作用。本文首先概述了微纳米马达的各种驱动机制，包括基于氧化还原反应的化学驱动和基于光、磁、电、超声等外部能量的外场驱动。随后总结了近十年来基于化学驱动和外场驱动的微纳米马达在药物递送领域的最新研究进展，最后对当前存在的挑战和未来的发展方向进行了展望。

Keywords: chemically propulsion; drug delivery; external field propulsion; micro-/nanomotors.

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Figures

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1
化学驱动的微纳米马达 Representative examples of chemically propelled MNMs. A: MNMs based on bubble propulsion[20]; B: MNMs based on self-diffusiophoresis[21]; C: MNMs based on self-electrophoresis[22]; D: Oil droplet based on interfacial tension gradient mechanism[24].
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外场驱动的微纳米马达 Representative examples of external field-propelled MNMs. A: Light-propelled MNMs[26]; B: Magnetically propelled MNMs[30]; C: Ultrasonically propelled MNMs[32].
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化学驱动的微纳米马达用于主动的药物递送 Representative examples of active drug delivery by chemically propelled MNMs. A: The drug-loaded PLGA particles dynamic pick-up, transport and release by a Ni/(Au50/Ag50)/Ni/Pt nanomotor[38]; B: Janus capsule motors for drug delivery[39]; C: Selfassembly and GSH-triggered disassembly of a redox-sensitive nanomotor[40]; D: DOX delivery by cat-β@SAFs micromotors[41]; E: Mg-based micromotors for drug delivery[46]; F: Urease-powered Janus nanomotors for drug delivery[12].
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外场驱动的微纳米马达用于主动的药物递送 Representative examples of active drug delivery by external field-propelled MNMs. A: Magnetic helical microswimmers functionalized with lipoplexes for targeted gene delivery[48]; B: Schematic representation of a PDA treated FeGa@P(VDF-TrFE) core-shell nanowire for drug delivery[10]; C: Magnetic helical microswimmers functionalized with ZIF- 8 for in vitro drug delivery[49]; D: Ultrasound-propelled drug-loaded nanoporous Au nanomotors for drug delivery[50]; E: Ultrasonically propelled nanomotors for intracellular siRNA delivery[34]; F: Ultrasound-propelled high-pH-responsive polymer coated gold nanowire for CASP-3 delivery[35].
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