Activated micromotor propulsion by enzyme catalysis in a biofluid medium

Abstract

Autonomous biocompatible systems have emerged to be of immense interest to the research community in recent times, owing to their wide gamut of applications ranging from biomimetics and nanomachinery on the one hand to targeted drug delivery on the other hand. While the electric field generated out of enzyme catalysis has been demonstrated to self-propel these active particles, the role of the intervening bio-fluid media in altering their motion remains unresolved. Here, through numerical simulations, we report unique interactions between enzyme-catalysis powered micromotors and complex bio-fluids towards achieving highly efficient electro-catalytic propulsion, surpassing the established limits to a large extent. These results may turn out to be of profound importance in realizing unprecedented control on electro-chemically induced locomotion of microscale or nanoscale objects in physiologically relevant fluidic pathways of in-vivo or in-vitro systems.