Micro/nanorobots for remediation of water resources and aquatic life

Haocheng Wang; Yizhan Jing; Jiuzheng Yu; Bo Ma; Mingyang Sui; Yanhe Zhu; Lizhou Dai; Shimin Yu; Mu Li; Lin Wang

doi:10.3389/fbioe.2023.1312074

Micro/nanorobots for remediation of water resources and aquatic life

Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2023 Nov 9:11:1312074. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2023.1312074. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Haocheng Wang¹, Yizhan Jing¹, Jiuzheng Yu², Bo Ma³, Mingyang Sui¹, Yanhe Zhu¹, Lizhou Dai¹, Shimin Yu⁴, Mu Li⁵, Lin Wang¹

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Robotics and System, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China.
² Oil & Gas Technology Research Institute, PetroChina Changqing Oilfield Company, Xi'an, China.
³ State Engineering Laboratory of Exploration and Development of Low-Permeability Oil & Gas Field, Xi'an, China.
⁴ College of Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China.
⁵ Department of Pharmacy, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.

Abstract

Nowadays, global water scarcity is becoming a pressing issue, and the discharge of various pollutants leads to the biological pollution of water bodies, which further leads to the poisoning of living organisms. Consequently, traditional water treatment methods are proving inadequate in addressing the growing demands of various industries. As an effective and eco-friendly water treatment method, micro/nanorobots is making significant advancements. Based on researches conducted between 2019 and 2023 in the field of water pollution using micro/nanorobots, this paper comprehensively reviews the development of micro/nanorobots in water pollution control from multiple perspectives, including propulsion methods, decontamination mechanisms, experimental techniques, and water monitoring. Furthermore, this paper highlights current challenges and provides insights into the future development of the industry, providing guidance on biological water pollution control.

Keywords: actuation mechanism; decontamination mechanism; micro/nanorobot; water monitoring; water pollution control; water purification.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by the National key research and development program (2022YFB4701700), National Excellent Youth Science Fund Project of National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant no. 52322502), National Outstanding Youth Science Fund Project of National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant no. 52025054) National Nature Science Foundation of China (Grant No.52175009), Heilongjiang Providence Nature Science Foundation of China (Grant No. YQ 2022E022), Interdisciplinary Research Foundation of HIT (IR20211219) and Fundamental Research Funds for Central Universities. China Postdoctoral Science Foundation Grant (2023M733341), Postdoctoral Innovative Talents in Shandong Province (SDBX2023011), Qingdao Postdoctoral Project Funding (QDBSH20230202102).