Photo-Driven Sperm-Inspired Microrobots Serving in Liquid Environments

Bionic microrobots working in liquid environments have attracted attention in recent years, because they play an important role in the medical fields. So far, most bionic microrobots serving in liquid environments (swimming microrobots) are fabricated based on organic materials. Limited by the inherent property of organic materials, the performance and lifetime of the swimming microrobots are still deficient. Facing this challenge, inspired by sperms, swimming microrobots based on the inorganic phase transition driving material vanadium dioxide are developed. In liquid environments, the linear and rotary motion of these sperm-like micro-robots could be controlled by changing the laser modulation frequency. The highest linear speed attained is 56 mu m s-1, and the highest rotary speed attained is 14 degrees s-1. The microrobot is able to undergo more than 105 cycles in a liquid environment without degradation of its performance. Considering its high performance and controllability, the swimming microrobot is expected to be helpful in medical applications such as precision drug delivery and minimally invasive surgery. Inspired by the sperm, photo-driven microrobots serving in liquid environments are developed. The linear and rotary motion of sperm-like micro-robots could be controlled by laser frequency. The highest linear and rotary speeds attain 56 mu m s and 14 degrees s-1. The microrobot undergoes more than 105 cycles in liquid environments without performance degradation.image (c) 2024 WILEY-VCH GmbH