Self-Propelled Micro-/Nanomotors Based on Controlled Assembled Architectures

Synthetic micro‐/nanomotors (MNMs) are capable of performing self‐propelled motion in fluids through harvesting different types of energies into mechanical movement, with potential applications in biomedicine and other fields. To address the challenges in these applications, a promising strategy that combines controlled assembly (bottom‐up approaches) with top‐down approaches for engineering autonomous, multifunctionalized MNMs is under investigation, beginning in 2012. These MNMs, derived from layer‐by‐layer assembly or molecular self‐assembly, display the advantages of: i) mass production, ii) response to the external stimuli, and iii) access to multifunctionality, biocompatibility, and biodegradability. The advance on how to integrate diverse functional components into different architectures based on controlled assemblies, to realize controlled fabrication, motion control (including the movement speed, direction, and state), and biomedical applications of MNMs, directed by the concept of nanoarchitectonics, are highlighted here. The remaining challenges and future research directions are also discussed. Nanoarchitectonics is highlighted as an emerging, promising strategy for the fabrication, motion control, and applications of artificial micro‐/nanomotors based on diverse assembled architectures. The strategy affords assembled micro‐/nanomotors with multifunctionality, stimuli‐response properties, and the feasibility of mass production, which favors the applications of micro‐/nanomotors in biomedical fields.