MOF-Loaded Biotemplated Magnetic Microrobots for Targeted Chemo-Photothermal Therapy

Magnetic micro/nanorobots have been extensively studied for their potential in targeted drug delivery. However, facile fabrication of magnetic microrobots with good biocompatibility and enhanced chemo-photothermal therapeutic efficiency is still challenging. Here, we proposed a novel strategy for mass production of MOF-loaded biotemplated magnetic microrobots based on Chlorella and verified its feasibility for application in targeted chemo-photothermal therapy. In this approach, Fe3O4 NPs were densely loaded inside Chlorella cells for magnetization, and a layer of PDA was coated extracellularly for enhanced photothermal conversion. Subsequently, ZIF-8 nanoparticles were grown in situ to achieve highly efficient loading of anticancer doxorubicin (DOX), which could also be released via pH/light stimuli. The as-prepared microrobot could achieve precise propulsion under a rotating magnetic field, and rapid photothermal heating under an 808 nm near-infrared (NIR) laser. Furthermore, such microrobots exhibited good biocompatibility with low cell toxicity and targeted anticancer therapy with enhanced chemo-photothermal effects, which were verified by a series of in vitro tests. Due to facile biotemplated fabrication and their superior versatility, the microrobots demonstrated significant potential for targeted anticancer therapy.