A Review of Micromotors in Confinements: Pores, Channels, Grooves, Steps, Interfaces, Chains, and Swimming in the Bulk.

One of the recent frontiers of nanotechnology research involves machines that operate at nano- and microscales, also known as nano/micromotors. Their potential applications in biomedicine, environmental sciences and engineering, military and defense industries, self-assembly, and many other areas have fueled an intense interest in this topic over the last 15 years. Despite deepened understanding of their propulsion mechanisms, we are still in the early days of exploring the dynamics of micromotors in complex and more realistic environments. Confinements, as a typical example of complex environments, are extremely relevant to the applications of micromotors, which are expected to travel in mucus gels, blood vessels, reproductive and digestive tracts, microfluidic chips, and capillary tubes. In this review, we summarize and critically examine recent studies (mostly experimental ones) of micromotor dynamics in confinements in 3D (spheres and porous network, channels, grooves, steps, and obstacles), 2D (liquid-liquid, liquid-solid, and liquid-air interfaces), and 1D (chains). In addition, studies of micromotors moving in the bulk solution and the usefulness of acoustic levitation is discussed. At the end of this article, we summarize how confinements can affect micromotors and offer our insights on future research directions. This review article is relevant to readers who are interested in the interactions of materials with interfaces and structures at the microscale and helpful for the design of smart and multifunctional materials for various applications.

• Publication year

  2018

• Venue

  ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces

• Publication date

  2018-12-18

• Fields of study

  Materials Science, Physics, Medicine, Engineering

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1021/acsami.8b13103PMID 30562451
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Active particles with desired orientation flowing through a bottleneck

  2018cited by this paper
• Catalytic Micromotors Moving Near Polyelectrolyte-Modified Substrates: The Roles of Surface Charges, Morphology, and Released Ions.

  2018cited by this paper
• Shape-Dependent Motion of Structured Photoactive Microswimmers.

  2018cited by this paper
• Swimming Microrobots: Soft, Reconfigurable, and Smart

  2018cited by this paper
• Erythrocyte Membrane Modified Janus Polymeric Motors for Thrombus Therapy

  2018cited by this paper
• Soft Micro- and Nanorobotics

  2018cited by this paper
• Janus Microdimer Surface Walkers Propelled by Oscillating Magnetic Fields

  2018cited by this paper
• Small‐Scale Machines Driven by External Power Sources

  2018cited by this paper
• Multifunctional and self-propelled spherical Janus nano/micromotors: recent advances.

  2018cited by this paper
• Directed Flow of Micromotors through Alignment Interactions with Micropatterned Ratchets.

  2018cited by this paper
• Evolution of Self-Propelled Objects: From the Viewpoint of Nonlinear Science.

  2018cited by this paper
• Efficient Propulsion and Hovering of Bubble-Driven Hollow Micromotors underneath an Air-Liquid Interface.

  2018cited by this paper
• Nano Trek Beyond: Driving Nanocars/Molecular Machines at Interfaces.

  2018cited by this paper
• Photochemically Powered AgCl Janus Micromotors as a Model System to Understand Ionic Self-Diffusiophoresis.

  2018cited by this paper
• Micro- and Nanomotors as Active Environmental Microcleaners and Sensors.

  2018cited by this paper
• Fuel-Free Light-Powered TiO2/Pt Janus Micromotors for Enhanced Nitroaromatic Explosives Degradation.

  2018cited by this paper
• Flexible Guidance of Microengines by Dynamic Topographical Pathways in Ferrofluids.

  2018cited by this paper
• Photogravitactic Microswimmers

  2018cited by this paper
• Sounds and hydrodynamics of polar active fluids

  2018cited by this paper
• An Active Approach to Colloidal Self-Assembly.

  2018cited by this paper
• Rheotaxis of Bimetallic Micromotors Driven by Chemical-Acoustic Hybrid Power.

  2017cited by this paper
• Active Atoms and Interstitials in Two-Dimensional Colloidal Crystals.

  2017cited by this paper
• A Pickering Emulsion Route to Swimming Active Janus Colloids

  2017cited by this paper
• Multifunctional biohybrid magnetite microrobots for imaging-guided therapy

  2017cited by this paper
• Hydrodynamic and entropic effects on colloidal diffusion in corrugated channels

  2017cited by this paper
• Hydrodynamic interaction of a self-propelling particle with a wall

  2017cited by this paper
• Twists and Turns of Orbiting and Spinning Metallic Microparticles Powered by Megahertz Ultrasound.

  2017cited by this paper
• Light‐Steered Isotropic Semiconductor Micromotors

  2017cited by this paper
• Visible light-driven, magnetically steerable gold/iron oxide nanomotors.

  2017cited by this paper
• Fuel‐Free Synthetic Micro‐/Nanomachines

  2017cited by this paper
• Janus Colloids Actively Rotating on the Surface of Water.

  2017cited by this paper
• The first nanocar race

  2017cited by this paper
• Two-dimensional nature of the active Brownian motion of catalytic microswimmers at solid and liquid interfaces

  2017cited by this paper
• Phoretic Self-Propulsion

  2017cited by this paper
• Perspectives on Janus micromotors: Materials and applications

  2017cited by this paper
• Ultrasound propulsion of micro-/nanomotors

  2017cited by this paper
• Micro/nanorobots for biomedicine: Delivery, surgery, sensing, and detoxification

  2017cited by this paper
• Non‐Equilibrium Assembly of Light‐Activated Colloidal Mixtures

  2017cited by this paper
• Guiding microscale swimmers using teardrop-shaped posts.

  2017cited by this paper
• Dynamic and programmable self-assembly of micro-rafts at the air-water interface

  2017cited by this paper
• Sequence-encoded colloidal origami and microbot assemblies from patchy magnetic cubes

  2017cited by this paper
• Ionic screening and dissociation are crucial for understanding chemical self-propulsion in polar solvents.

  2017cited by this paper
• Active colloidal particles at fluid-fluid interfaces

  2017cited by this paper
• Helical paths, gravitaxis, and separation phenomena for mass-anisotropic self-propelling colloids: Experiment versus theory.

  2017cited by this paper
• Active colloidal propulsion over a crystalline surface

  2017cited by this paper
• Self-thermophoretic motion of controlled assembled micro-/nanomotors.

  2017cited by this paper
• Active colloids in complex fluids

  2016cited by this paper
• Self-diffusiophoresis of chemically active colloids

  2016cited by this paper
• Reconfiguring active particles by electrostatic imbalance.

  2016cited by this paper
• Genesis of the Nanomachines: The 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

  2016cited by this paper
• Surface-enabled propulsion and control of colloidal microwheels

  2016cited by this paper
• Artificial micro-swimmers in simulated natural environments.

  2016cited by this paper
• Three-dimensional manipulation of single cells using surface acoustic waves

  2016cited by this paper
• Confined Catalytic Janus Swimmers in a Crowded Channel: Geometry-Driven Rectification Transients and Directional Locking.

  2016cited by this paper
• Distortion and destruction of colloidal flocks in disordered environments

  2016cited by this paper
• Progress toward Light-Harvesting Self-Electrophoretic Motors: Highly Efficient Bimetallic Nanomotors and Micropumps in Halogen Media.

  2016cited by this paper
• Highly Efficient Light-Driven TiO2-Au Janus Micromotors.

  2016cited by this paper
• Self-propelled autonomous nanomotors meet microfluidics.

  2016cited by this paper
• Bimetallic Microswimmers Speed Up in Confining Channels.

  2016cited by this paper
• Enzyme Catalysis To Power Micro/Nanomachines

  2016cited by this paper
• Self-Diffusiophoresis of Janus Catalytic Micromotors in Confined Geometries.

  2016cited by this paper
• Rocket Science at the Nanoscale.

  2016cited by this paper
• Acoustic trapping of active matter

  2016cited by this paper
• Chemistry pumps: a review of chemically powered micropumps.

  2016cited by this paper
• Dynamics of Self-Propelled Janus Particles in Viscoelastic Fluids.

  2016cited by this paper
• Origins of concentration gradients for diffusiophoresis.

  2016cited by this paper
• Nano/micromotors for security/defense applications. A review.

  2015cited by this paper
• Self-diffusiophoretic colloidal propulsion near a solid boundary

  2015cited by this paper
• An Optically Driven Bistable Janus Rotor with Patterned Metal Coatings.

  2015cited by this paper
• Enhanced active motion of Janus colloids at the water surface.

  2015cited by this paper
• A Force to Be Reckoned With: A Review of Synthetic Microswimmers Powered by Ultrasound.

  2015cited by this paper
• Glancing angle metal evaporation synthesis of catalytic swimming Janus colloids with well defined angular velocity.

  2015cited by this paper
• Enhancing rectification of a nano-swimmer system by multi-layered asymmetric barriers.

  2015cited by this paper
• Micromotors Powered by Enzyme Catalysis.

  2015cited by this paper
• Amoeboid motion in confined geometry.

  2015cited by this paper
• Selectively manipulable acoustic-powered microswimmers

  2015cited by this paper
• A tale of two forces: simultaneous chemical and acoustic propulsion of bimetallic micromotors.

  2015cited by this paper
• Physicochemical design and analysis of self-propelled objects that are characteristically sensitive to environments.

  2015cited by this paper
• Recent Progress on Man-Made Inorganic Nanomachines.

  2015cited by this paper
• Enzymatically active biomimetic micropropellers for the penetration of mucin gels

  2015cited by this paper
• The dynamics of a self-phoretic Janus swimmer near a wall

  2015cited by this paper
• Emergent vortices in populations of colloidal rollers

  2015cited by this paper
• Localized electroosmosis (LEO) induced by spherical colloidal motors.

  2014cited by this paper
• Light-activated self-propelled colloids

  2014cited by this paper
• Self-powered enzyme micropumps.

  2014cited by this paper
• Simulation of the active Brownian motion of a microswimmer

  2014cited by this paper
• Effects of geometric parameters on swimming of micro organisms with single helical flagellum in circular channels.

  2014cited by this paper
• Mini and Micro Propulsion for Medical Swimmers

  2014cited by this paper
• Acoustic propulsion of nanorod motors inside living cells.

  2014cited by this paper
• Swimming in a crystal.

  2014cited by this paper
• Acceleration of Tissue Plasminogen Activator-Mediated Thrombolysis by Magnetically Powered Nanomotors

  2014cited by this paper
• Turning erythrocytes into functional micromotors.

  2014cited by this paper
• Nanomotor lithography

  2014cited by this paper
• Nanopropellers and their actuation in complex viscoelastic media.

  2014cited by this paper
• Artificial Micromotors in the Mouse’s Stomach: A Step toward in Vivo Use of Synthetic Motors

  2014cited by this paper
• Self-propulsion of a catalytically active particle near a planar wall: from reflection to sliding and hovering.

  2014cited by this paper
• Propulsion by a helical flagellum in a capillary tube

  2013cited by this paper
• Hydrodynamic capture of microswimmers into sphere-bound orbits.

  2013cited by this paper
• Low-Reynolds-number swimming in a capillary tube

  2013cited by this paper
• Circular motion of asymmetric self-propelling particles.

  2013cited by this paper

• Exact Stationary State of a $d$-dimensional Run-and-Tumble Particle in a Harmonic Potential

  2026cites this paper
• Motion control of chemically powered colloidal motors.

  2025cites this paper
• Dynamics of a bottom-heavy Janus particle near a wall under shear flow

  2025cites this paper
• Recent progress on preparation and application of Janus composite particles

  2025cites this paper
• Bubble-Driven Flow Transitions in Evaporating Active Droplets on Structured Surfaces

  2025cites this paper
• Radial illumination enables the concentration, dispersion, lateral transport, and sorting of photocatalytic TiO2 microspheres.

  2025cites this paper
• Flow‐Active Liquid Marbles as Microreactors for Photocatalytic Micromotors

  2025cites this paper
• Reconfigurable superstructures of photocatalytic colloidal motors under light, magnetic, and acoustic fields.

  2025cites this paper
• Exploring the protein corona-mediated near-wall confined motion of micro-carriers via total internal reflection microscopy

  2025cites this paper
• Dynamics of a Chain of Interacting Magnetic Particles in a One-Dimensional Periodic Energy Landscape

  2025cites this paper
• Is the circular motion of bubble-driven spherical Janus micromotors deterministic or random?

  2025cites this paper
• Synthetic DNA-based Swimmers Driven by Enzyme Catalysis.

  2024cites this paper
• Measuring Attractive Interaction between a Self-Electrophoretic Micromotor and a Wall.

  2024cites this paper
• Magnetic micromotors crossing lipid membranes.

  2024cites this paper
• Effect of carbon dot on preparation of dual-functional Janus particles via photo-initiated seed swelling polymerization

  2024cites this paper
• Brownian colloids in optothermal field: An experimental perspective

  2024cites this paper
• Flow fields around active droplets squeezing through tight confinements

  2024cites this paper
• Metareview: a survey of active matter reviews

  2024cites this paper
• Recent developments in graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) applications in micromotors

  2024cites this paper
• Template-guided Silicon Micromotor Assembly for Enhanced Cell Manipulation.

  2024cites this paper
• Dielectrophoretic Colloidal Levitation by Electrode Polarization in Oscillating Electric Fields.

  2023cites this paper
• On Nanomachines and Their Future Perspectives in Biomedicine

  2023cites this paper
• Tailoring Functional Micromotors for Sensing

  2023cites this paper
• Recent trends in non-reactive light driven Micro/-nano propellers and rotors

  2023cites this paper
• Light Driven ZnO/AuNP Micro/Nanomotor with Controlled Rotation and Phototaxis

  2023cites this paper
• Ultrasonic Steering Wheels: Turning Micromotors by Localized Acoustic Microstreaming.

  2023cites this paper
• Microdynamics of active particles in defect-rich colloidal crystals.

  2023cites this paper
• Steering Micromotors via Reprogrammable Optoelectronic Paths.

  2023cites this paper
• Pattern formation and collective effects during the process of the motion of magnetic nanomotors in narrow channels.

  2023cites this paper
• Open Questions of Chemically Powered Nano- and Micromotors.

  2023cites this paper
• Non-Stokesian dynamics of magnetic helical nanoswimmers under confinement

  2023influential citation
• Motion of magnetic motors across liquid-liquid interface.

  2023cites this paper
• Depinning transition of self-propelled particles.

  2023cites this paper
• Colloidal Active Matter Mimics the Behavior of Biological Microorganisms-An Overview.

  2022cites this paper
• Alternating Current Electric Field Driven Topologically Defective Micro/nanomotors

  2022cites this paper
• Generic Rules for Distinguishing Autophoretic Colloidal Motors.

  2022cites this paper
• The effect of particle size on the dynamics of self-electrophoretic Janus micromotors, sputtering distribution, and rectifying voltage

  2022cites this paper
• The role of particle-electrode wall interactions in mobility of active Janus particles driven by electric fields.

  2022cites this paper
• Magnetic Nanomotors in Emulsions for Locomotion of Microdroplets.

  2022cites this paper
• Microswimming by oxidation of dibenzylamine.

  2022cites this paper
• Microrobot collectives with reconfigurable morphologies, behaviors, and functions

  2022cites this paper
• Propulsion, deformation, and confinement response of hollow nanocellulose millimotors.

  2022cites this paper
• Designing, Synthesizing and Modeling Active Fluids

  2022cites this paper
• Effect of anisotropy on the formation of active particle films.

  2022cites this paper
• Micro/nanomotors for metal ion detection and removal from water: A review

  2022cites this paper
• Confined Motion: Motility of Active Microparticles in Cell-Sized Lipid Vesicles

  2022cites this paper
• Multimodal Bubble Microrobot Near an Air-Water Interface.

  2022cites this paper
• Multimodal bubble microrobot near free liquid surface

  2022cites this paper
• Controlled propulsion of micro/nanomotors: operational mechanisms, motion manipulation and potential biomedical applications.

  2022cites this paper
• Transient dispersion process of active particles

  2021cites this paper
• Distinct dynamics of self-propelled bowl-shaped micromotors caused by shape effect: Concave vs convex

  2021cites this paper
• Ultrasound-Powered Micro-/Nanorobots: Fundamentals and Biomedical Applications

  2021cites this paper
• Polymeric Micro/Nanocarriers and Motors for Cargo Transport and Phototriggered Delivery

  2021cites this paper
• System‐Engineered Miniaturized Robots: From Structure to Intelligence

  2021cites this paper
• Active and Passive Motion in Complex pH‐Fields

  2021cites this paper
• Collective behavior of swarmalators on a ring.

  2021cites this paper
• Phoretic colloids close to and trapped at fluid interfaces

  2021cites this paper
• Particle actuation by rotating magnetic fields in microchannels: a numerical study.

  2021cites this paper
• Microfluidics for Microswimmers: Engineering Novel Swimmers and Constructing Swimming Lanes on the Microscale, a Tutorial Review.

  2021cites this paper
• Self-powered locomotion of a hydrogel water strider

  2021cites this paper
• Impact of surface charge on the motion of light-activated Janus micromotors

  2021cites this paper
• Smart Materials for Microrobots.

  2021cites this paper
• Confined Bubble-Propelled Microswimmers in Capillaries: Wall Effect, Fuel Deprivation, and Exhaust Product Excess.

  2020cites this paper
• Review and Prospect of Medical Magnetic-Driven Micro-Nano Robots Based on Equipment Maintenance Concept

  2020cites this paper
• Switching Propulsion Mechanisms of Tubular Catalytic Micromotors.

  2020cites this paper
• Recent Advances in Motion Control of Micro/Nanomotors

  2020cites this paper
• Synergistic Speed Enhancement of an Electric-Photochemical Hybrid Micromotor by Tilt Rectification.

  2020cites this paper
• A practical guide to active colloids: choosing synthetic model systems for soft matter physics research.

  2020cites this paper
• Mixing enhancement induced by viscoelastic micromotors in microfluidic platforms

  2020cites this paper
• Active matter therapeutics.

  2020cites this paper
• Temporal light modulation of photochemically active, oscillating micromotors: dark pulses, mode switching and controlled clustering.

  2020cites this paper
• Confined 1D Propulsion of Metallodielectric Janus Micromotors on Microelectrodes Under Alternating Current Electric Fields.

  2019cites this paper
• Active particles in geometrically confined viscoelastic fluids

  2019cites this paper
• Colloidal Motors 101: A Beginner's Guide to Colloidal Motor Research.

  2019cites this paper