KES8-1123
Engineering Self-Propelled Antibiofilm Microrobots (SLAM) for Fouled Devices, Implants, and Infected Wounds
Topic
S8. Frontiers of Functional Polymers in Biology and Medicine
When and Where
Oct 1, 2026
10:20 - 10:45
Room 108
Session Chairs
Jieung BAEK
Yoonho HWANG
Presenter(s)
Hyunjoon KONG (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
Co-Author(s)
Abstract
Bacterial biofilms remain difficult to eradicate because their extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) matrix restricts diffusion of antiseptic agents and antibiotics and shields embedded cells from mechanical and chemical assault. To counter this challenge, we have developed a class of self-locomotive, antibiofilm microrobots (SLAM), catalytically self-propelled particles built from porous diatom biosilica doped with manganese oxide (MnO₂) nanosheets. These catalysts decompose H₂O₂ into oxygen microbubbles that propel the particles into biofilms and mechanically fracture the EPS matrix from within. We show that the polymeric binder used to synthesize and anchor MnO₂ onto the diatom surface is a previously underappreciated design variable that governs catalyst polymorphism, loading, self-propulsion speed, and collective swarming behavior. In particular, more effective binders enable particles to cooperatively generate and rupture microbubbles that produce cavitation energy sufficient to fracture dense EPS networks and achieve near-complete biofilm removal. Building on this binder-dependent design principle, we further demonstrate that binder-anchored MnO₂-biosilica, whether suspended in peroxide solution or embedded beneath H₂O₂-releasing dressings, sustains bubble activity at the tissue–biofilm interface, enabling near-complete removal of biofilm from contaminated surgical instruments and, in a murine wound model infected with mature, antibiotic-resistant polymicrobial biofilm, driving substantial bacterial reduction, accelerated re-epithelialization, and reduced antibiotic dose requirements. Together, these results establish binder-controlled nanocatalyst assembly as a general polymer-chemistry design principle for engineering self-locomotive antibiofilm microrobots, bridging biofilm disruption on inert surfaces with therapeutic biofilm clearance in living tissue and across a broad array of medical and industrial settings.
