Au/Pt-Egg-in-Nest Nanomotor for Glucose-Powered Catalytic Motion and Enhanced Molecular Transport to Living Cells

Nanostructures converting chemical energy to mechanical work by using benign metabolic fuels, have huge implications in biomedical science. Here, we introduce Au/Pt-based Janus nanostructures, resembling to egg-in-nest morphology (Au/Pt-ENs), showing enhanced motion as a result of dual enzyme-relay-like catalytic cascade in physiological biomedia, and in turn showing molecular-laden transport to living cells. We developed dynamic-casting approach using silica yolk-shell nanoreactors: first, to install a large Au-seed fixing the silica-yolk aside while providing the anisotropically confined concave hollow nanospace to grow curved Pt-dendritic networks. Owing to the intimately interfaced Au and Pt catalytic sites integrated in a unique anisotropic nest-like morphology, Au/Pt-ENs exhibited high diffusion rates and displacements as the result of glucose-converted oxygen concentration gradient. High diffusiophoresis in cell culture media increased the nanomotor-membrane interaction events, in turn facilitated the cell internalization. In addition, the porous network of Au/Pt-ENs facilitated the drug-molecule cargo loading and delivery to the living cells.

Automated summary

In this study, Au/Pt-based Janus nanostructures were used to achieve efficient molecular transport in physiological environments, while a dynamic-casting approach was developed to create nanomotors with strong interactive properties.