Biodegradable Small‐Scale Swimmers for Biomedical Applications

• Published in: Advanced materials (Weinheim) Vol. 33; no. 42; pp. e2102049 - n/a
• Main Authors: Llacer‐Wintle, Joaquin, Rivas‐Dapena, Antón, Chen, Xiang‐Zhong, Pellicer, Eva, Nelson, Bradley J., Puigmartí‐Luis, Josep, Pané, Salvador
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.10.2021
• Subjects: Animals; Biodegradability; biodegradable; Biomedical materials; biomedicine; Biopolymers - chemistry; Chemical energy; Drug Carriers - chemistry; Health care; Humans; Hydrogels - chemistry; Light; Materials science; Medical electronics; micro; Microorganisms; motors; nano; Nanostructures - chemistry; Pharmaceutical Preparations - chemistry; Pharmaceutical Preparations - metabolism; Reactive Oxygen Species - metabolism; Robotics; robots; swimmers; biodegradable; micro; nano; biomedicine; robots; motors; swimmers
• ISSN: 0935-9648; 1521-4095; 1521-4095
• DOI: 10.1002/adma.202102049

Most forms of biomatter are ephemeral, which means they transform or deteriorate after a certain time. From this perspective, implantable healthcare devices designed for temporary treatments should exhibit the ability to degrade and either blend in with healthy tissues, or be cleared from the body with minimal disruption after accomplishing their designated tasks. This topic is currently being investigated in the field of biomedical micro‐ and nanoswimmers. These tiny devices have the ability to move through fluids by converting physical or chemical energy into motion. Several architectures of these devices have been designed to mimic the motion strategies of nature's motile microorganisms and cells. Due to their motion abilities, these devices have been proposed as minimally invasive tools for precision healthcare applications. Hence, a natural progression in this field is to produce motile structures that can adopt, or even surpass, similar transient features as biological systems. The fate of small‐scale swimmers after accomplishing their therapeutic mission is critical for the successful translation of small‐scale swimmers’ technologies into clinical applications. In this review, recent research efforts are summarized on the topic of biodegradable micro‐ and nanoswimmers for biomedical applications, with a focus on targeted therapeutic delivery. Due to their motion abilities, micro‐ and nanoswimmers are proposed as minimally invasive tools for precision healthcare applications. When designed for temporary treatments, these devices should exhibit the ability to degrade in the body with minimal disruption after accomplishing their designated tasks. Recent research efforts on the topic of biodegradable micro‐ and nanoswimmers for biomedical applications are summarized.