Biotemplating of Metal-Organic Framework Nanocrystals for Applications in Small-Scale Robotics

Biotemplating is a powerful approach for manufacturing small-scale devices. Here, the assembly of metal-organic framework (MOF) nanocrystals onto biotemplated magnetic helical structures on the cyanobacterium Spirulina platensis is reported. It is demonstrated that the authors' approach is universal and can be used to equip biotemplated structures with different functional MOF systems. The successful assembly of MOF nanocrystals on magnetically coated helical biotemplates is achieved by decorating the magnetic surface with gelatin, a naturally occurring macromolecule with synthon moieties that allows anchoring of the MOF nanocrystals via electrostatic interactions. Furthermore, as gelatin is a thermally responsive material, it can serve to free the magnetic biotemplates from the MOF nanocrystal cargoes. As such, the systems can be used as highly integrated magnetically driven microrobots with multiple functionalities. To this end, the potential of these composite helical architectures is demonstrated as MOF-based small-scale robots with applications in biomedicine and environmental remediation.