Micro-/nanoscale robotics for chemical and biological sensing.

Journal: Lab on a chip
PMID:

Abstract

The field of micro-/nanorobotics has attracted extensive interest from a variety of research communities and witnessed enormous progress in a broad array of applications ranging from basic research to global healthcare and to environmental remediation and protection. In particular, micro-/nanoscale robots provide an enabling platform for the development of next-generation chemical and biological sensing modalities, owing to their unique advantages as programmable, self-sustainable, and/or autonomous mobile carriers to accommodate and promote physical and chemical processes. In this review, we intend to provide an overview of the state-of-the-art development in this area and share our perspective in the future trend. This review starts with a general introduction of micro-/nanorobotics and the commonly used methods for propulsion of micro-/nanorobots in solution, along with the commonly used methods in their fabrication. Next, we comprehensively summarize the current status of the micro/nanorobotic research in relevance to chemical and biological sensing (, motion-based sensing, optical sensing, and electrochemical sensing). Following that, we provide an overview of the primary challenges currently faced in the micro-/nanorobotic research. Finally, we conclude this review by providing our perspective detailing the future application of soft robotics in chemical and biological sensing.

Authors

  • Liuzheng Zheng
    Department of Chemistry, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, 32611, USA. zengy@chem.ufl.edu.
  • Nathan Hart
    Department of Chemistry, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, 32611, USA. zengy@chem.ufl.edu.
  • Yong Zeng
    a College of Pharmacy , Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine , Chengdu , P.R. China.