Nano/micromotor technology is evolving as an effective method for water treatment applications in comparison to existing static mechanisms. The dynamic nature of the nano/micromotor particles enable faster mass transport and a uniform mixing ensuring an improved pollutant degradation and removal. Here we develop thermosensitive magnetic nanorobots (TM nanorobots) consisting of a pluronic tri-block copolymer (PTBC) that functions as hands for pollutant removal. These TM nanorobots are incorporated with iron oxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticles as an active material to enable magnetic propulsion. The pickup and disposal of toxic pollutants are monitored by intermicellar agglomeration and separation of PTBC at different temperatures. The as-prepared TM nanorobots show excellent arsenic and atrazine removal efficiency. Furthermore, the adsorbed toxic contaminants on the TM nanorobots can be disposed by a simple cooling process and exhibit good recovery retention after multiple reuse cycles. This combination of temperature sensitive aggregation/separation coupled with magnetic propulsion opens a plethora of opportunities in the applicability of nanorobots in water treatment and targeted pollutant removal approaches.

Center for Advanced Functional Nanorobots Department of Inorganic Chemistry Faculty of Chemical Technology University of Chemistry and Technology Prague Technická 5 166 28 Prague 6 Czech Republic

Center for Nanorobotics and Machine Intelligence Dept of Food Technology Mendel University Zemedelska 1 Brno 613 00 Czech Republic

Central Analytical Laboratory Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic 166 10 Prague 6 Czech Republic

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Yonsei University 50 Yonseiro Seodaemun gu Seoul 03722 Korea

Department of Medical Research China Medical University Hospital China Medical University No 91 Hsueh Shih Road Taichung 40402 Taiwan

Future Energy and Innovation Lab Central European Institute of Technology Brno University of Technology Purkyňova 123 Brno 612 00 Czech Republic

See more in PubMed

Wang H, Pumera M. Micro/nanomachines and living biosystems: from simple interactions to microcyborgs. Adv. Funct. Mater. 2018;28:1705421.

Moo JGS, et al. Bjerknes forces in motion: long-range translational motion and chiral directionality switching in bubble-propelled micromotors via an ultrasonic pathway. Adv. Funct. Mater. 2018;28:1702618.

Gao W, Wang J. The environmental impact of micro/nanomachines: a review. ACS Nano. 2014;8:3170–3180. PubMed

Wang B, et al. Endoscopy-assisted magnetic navigation of biohybrid soft microrobots with rapid endoluminal delivery and imaging. Sci. Robot. 2021;6:eabd2813. PubMed

Safdar M, Simmchen J, Janis J. Light-driven micro- and nanomotors for environmental remediation. Environ. Sci. Nano. 2017;4:1602–1616.

Villa K, et al. Visible-light-driven single-component BiVO4 micromotors with the autonomous ability for capturing microorganisms. ACS Nano. 2019;13:8135–8145. PubMed

Vyskočil J, et al. Cancer cells microsurgery via asymmetric bent surface Au/Ag/Ni microrobotic scalpels through a transversal rotating magnetic field. ACS Nano. 2020;14:8247–8256. PubMed

Pal M, et al. Maneuverability of magnetic nanomotors inside living cells. Adv. Mater. 2018;30:1800429. PubMed

Tottori S, Nelson BJ. Controlled propulsion of two-dimensional microswimmers in a precessing magnetic field. Small. 2018;14:1800722. PubMed

Chen XZ, et al. Recent developments in magnetically driven micro- and nanorobots. Appl. Mater. Today. 2017;9:37–48.

Gao W, Sattayasamitsathit S, Manesh KM, Weihs D, Wang J. Magnetically powered flexible metal nanowire motors. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2010;132:14403–14405. PubMed

Alcântara CCJ, et al. 3D fabrication of fully iron magnetic microrobots. Small. 2019;15:1805006. PubMed

Yan X, et al. Magnetite nanostructured porous hollow helical microswimmers for targeted delivery. Adv. Funct. Mater. 2015;25:5333–5342.

Gao W, et al. Cargo-towing fuel-free magnetic nanoswimmers for targeted drug delivery. Small. 2012;8:460–467. PubMed

Yu J, et al. Active generation and magnetic actuation of microrobotic swarms in bio-fluids. Nat. Commun. 2019;10:5631. PubMed PMC

Chen XZ, et al. Magnetically driven piezoelectric soft microswimmers for neuron-like cell delivery and neuronal differentiation. Mater. Horiz. 2019;6:1512–1516.

Yan X, et al. Multifunctional biohybrid magnetite microrobots for imaging-guided therapy. Sci. Rob. 2017;2:eaaq1155. PubMed

Chautems C, et al. Magnetically powered microrobots: a medical revolution underway? Eur. J. Cardio-Thorac. Surg. 2017;51:405–407. PubMed

Mushtaq F, et al. On-The-Fly catalytic degradation of organic pollutants using magneto-photoresponsive bacteria-templated microcleaners. J. Mater. Chem. A. 2019;7:24847–24856.

Zhang Y, Yan K, Ji F, Zhang L. Enhanced removal of toxic heavy metals using swarming biohybrid adsorbents. Adv. Funct. Mater. 2018;28:1806340.

Mushtaq F, et al. Magnetoelectrically driven catalytic degradation of organics. Adv. Mater. 2019;31:1901378. PubMed

Gao W, et al. Seawater-driven magnesium based janus micromotors for environmental remediation. Nanoscale, 2013;5:4696–4700. PubMed

Uygun DA, Jurado-Sánchez B, Uygun M, Wang J. Self-propelled chelation platforms for efficient removal of toxic metals. Environ. Sci. Nano. 2016;3:559–566.

Hoop M, et al. Magnetically driven silver-coated nanocoils for efficient bacterial contact killing. Adv. Funct. Mater. 2016;26:1063–1069.

Jurado-Sánchez B, Wang J. Micromotors for environmental applications: a review. Environ. Sci. Nano. 2018;5:1530–1544.

Srivastava SK, Guix M, Schmidt OG. Wastewater mediated activation of micromotors for efficient water cleaning. Nano Lett. 2016;16:817–821. PubMed

Garcia-Torres J, Serrà A, Tierno P, Alcobé X, Vallés E. Magnetic Propulsion of Recyclable Catalytic Nanocleaners for Pollutant Degradation. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces. 2017;9:23859–23868. PubMed

Wang Q, Ji F, Wang S, Zhang L. Accelerating the fenton reaction with a magnetic microswarm for enhanced water remediation. ChemNanoMat. 2021;7:600–606.

Maria-Hormigos R, Pacheco M, Jurado-Sánchez B, Escarpa A. Carbon nanotubes-ferrite-manganese dioxide micromotors for advanced oxidation processes in water treatment. Environ. Sci. Nano. 2018;5:2993–3003.

Mou F, et al. Magnetically modulated pot‐like MnFe2O4 micromotors: nanoparticle assembly fabrication and their capability for direct oil removal. Adv. Funct. Mater. 2015;25:6173–6181.

Hou T, et al. Effective removal of inorganic and organic heavy metal pollutants with poly(amino acid)-based micromotors. Nanoscale. 2020;12:5227–5232. PubMed

Li X, et al. Hydrophobic janus foam motors: self-propulsion and On-The-Fly oil absorption. Micromachines. 2018;9:23. PubMed PMC

Hermanová S, Pumera M. Polymer platforms for micro- and nanomotor fabrication. Nanoscale. 2018;10:7332–7342. PubMed

Orozco J, et al. Artificial enzyme-powered microfish for water-quality testing. ACS Nano. 2013;7:818–824. PubMed

Jurado-Sánchez B, Escarpa A, Wang J. Lighting up micromotors with quantum dots for smart chemical sensing. Chem. Commun. 2015;51:14088–14091. PubMed

Soni SS, et al. Effect of self-assembly on triiodide diffusion in water based polymer gel electrolytes: an application in dye solar cell. J. Colloid Interface Sci. 2014;425:110–117. PubMed

Zhao J, et al. A smart flexible zinc battery with cooling recovery ability. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2017;56:7871–7875. PubMed

Li M, et al. A versatile platform for surface modification of microfluidic droplets. Lab Chip. 2017;17:635–639. PubMed PMC

Soni SS, Fadadu KB, Gibaud A. Ionic conductivity through thermoresponsive polymer gel: ordering matters. Langmuir. 2012;28:751–756. PubMed

Sonigara KK, et al. A smart flexible solid-state photovoltaic device with interfacial cooling recovery feature through thermoreversible polymer gel electrolyte. Small. 2018;14:1800842. PubMed

Sun XL, et al. Thermoresponsive block copolymer micelles with tunable pyrrolidone-based polymer cores: structure/property correlations and application as drug carriers. J. Mater. Chem. B. 2015;3:814–823. PubMed

Neradovic D, van Nostrum CF, Hennink WE. Thermoresponsive polymeric micelles with controlled instability based on hydrolytically sensitive N-isopropylacrylamide copolymers. Macromolecules. 2001;34:7589–7591.

Alexandridis P, Tsianou M. Block copolymer-directed metal nanoparticle morphogenesis and organization. Eur. Polym. J. 2011;4:569–583.

Lim JK, Majetich SA, Tilton RD. Stabilization of superparamagnetic iron oxide core−gold shell nanoparticles in high ionic strength media. Langmuir. 2009;25:13384–13393. PubMed

Jain TK, et al. Magnetic resonance imaging of multifunctional pluronic stabilized iron-oxide nanoparticles in tumor-bearing mice. Biomaterials. 2009;30:6748–6756. PubMed PMC

Lai CW, Low FW, Tai MF, Abdul Hamid SB. Iron oxide nanoparticles decorated oleic acid for high colloidal stability. Adv. Polym. Technol. 2018;37:1712–1721.

Jain TK, Morales MA, Sahoo SK, Leslie-Pelecky DL, Labhasetwar V. Iron oxide nanoparticles for sustained delivery of anticancer agents. Mol. Pharm. 2005;2:194–205. PubMed

Park J, et al. Antibiofouling amphiphilic polymer-coated superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles: synthesis, characterization, and use in cancer imaging in vivo. J. Mater. Chem. 2009;19:6412–6417.

Gao W, et al. Bioinspired helical microswimmers based on vascular plants. Nano Lett. 2014;14:305–310. PubMed

Jaishankar M, Tseten T, Anbalagan N, Mathew BB, Beeregowda KN. Toxicity, mechanism and health effects of some heavy metals. Interdiscip. Toxicol. 2014;7:60–72. PubMed PMC

Mohammed Abdul KS, Jayasinghe SS, Chandana EPS, Jayasumana C, De Silva PMCS. Arsenic and human health effects: a review. Environ. Toxicol. Pharmacol. 2015;40:828–846. PubMed

WHO Arsenic in drinking-water, background document for development of WHO guidelines for drinking-water quality (2011).

Villa K, Parmar J, Vilela D, Sanchez S. Metal-oxide-based microjets for the simultaneous removal of organic pollutants and heavy metals. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces. 2018;10:20478–20486. PubMed

Wang H, Khezri B, Pumera M. Catalytic DNA-functionalized self-propelled micromachines for environmental remediation. Chem. 2016;1:473–481.

Pathak RJ, Dikshit AK. Atrazine and human health. Int. J. Ecosyst. 2011;1:14–23.

Rinsky JL, Hopenhayn C, Golla V, Browning S, Bush HM. Atrazine exposure in public drinking water and preterm birth. Public Health Rep. 2012;127:72–80. PubMed PMC

Almberg KS, et al. Atrazine contamination of drinking water and adverse birth outcomes in community water systems with elevated atrazine in Ohio, 2006–2008. Int J. Environ. Res Public Health. 2018;15:1889. PubMed PMC

Ying Y, Pumera M. Micro/nanomotors for water purification. Chem. Eur. J. 2019;25:106–121. PubMed

Singh VV, Martin A, Kaufmann K, de Oliveira SDS, Wang J. Zirconia/graphene oxide hybrid micromotors for selective capture of nerve agents. Chem. Mater. 2015;27:8162–8169.

Vilela D, Parmar J, Zeng Y, Zhao Y, Sanchez S. Graphene-based microbots for toxic heavy metal removal and recovery from water. Nano Lett. 2016;16:2860–2866. PubMed PMC

Orozco J, Mercante LA, Pol R, Merkoçi A. Graphene-based Janus micromotors for the dynamic removal of pollutants. J. Mater. Chem. A. 2016;4:3371–3378.

Jurado-Sánchez B, et al. Self-propelled activated carbon Janus micromotors for efficient water purification. Small. 2015;11:499–506. PubMed

Wu X, et al. Bubble-propelled micromotors based on hierarchical MnO2 wrapped carbon nanotube aggregates for dynamic removal of pollutants. RSC Adv. 2020;10:14846. PubMed PMC

Technology Roadmap of Micro/Nanorobots

On-the-Fly Monitoring of the Capture and Removal of Nanoplastics with Nanorobots

Magnetic Microrobot Swarms with Polymeric Hands Catching Bacteria and Microplastics in Water

Magnetically boosted 1D photoactive microswarm for COVID-19 face mask disruption

Precisely Navigated Biobot Swarms of Bacteria Magnetospirillum magneticum for Water Decontamination

Smart micro- and nanorobots for water purification

See more in PubMed

figshare
10.6084/m9.figshare.17278619