Multiphysics numerical investigation of photothermal self-driving characteristics of SiO2@Au Janus microparticles for drug delivery--颗粒学报PARTICUOLOGY

Liu, Y., Wang, X., & He, Y. (2023). Multiphysics numerical investigation of photothermal self-driving characteristics of SiO2@Au Janus microparticles for drug delivery. Particuology, 76, 165-175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.partic.2022.07.014

Multiphysics numerical investigation of photothermal self-driving characteristics of SiO₂@Au Janus microparticles for drug delivery

Ying Liu ^{a b}, Xinzhi Wang ^{a b}, Yurong He ^{a b *}

a School of Energy Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150001, China
b Heilongjiang Key Laboratory of New Energy Storage Materials and Processes, School of Energy Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 50001, China

10.1016/j.partic.2022.07.014

Volume 76, May 2023, Pages 165-175

Received 21 April 2022, Revised 6 July 2022, Accepted 27 July 2022, Available online 12 August 2022, Version of Record 7 November 2022.

E-mail: rong@hit.edu.cn

Highlights

• The photothermal self-driving process of Janus microparticles was simulated.

• By regulating particle structure size and laser power could change particle speed.

• The impulse was introduced to analyze the motion patterns of Janus particles.

• The simulation results could guide the design of Janus particles in nanomedicine.

Abstract

The photothermal self-driving process of Janus microparticles has wide application prospects in the fields of biomedicine. Since silica and gold have good biocompatibility and high photothermal conversion efficiency, the SiO₂@Au Janus microparticles are widely used as drug carriers. Based on the multiphysics coupling method, the photothermal self-driving process of SiO₂@Au Janus microparticles was investigated, wherein the substrate was SiO₂ particles and one side of the particles was coated with gold film. Under a continuous wave laser with irradiation of 20 W/cm², the distance covered by the Janus particles was increased by increasing the thickness of the gold film and reducing the size of the SiO₂ particles; the self-driving characteristics of the Janus particles were controlled substantially by increasing the intensity of the incident laser. Based on the simulation results, the thermophoretic motion and Brownian motion of particles can be measured by comparing the absolute values of the thermophoretic force impulse, Brownian force impulse, and drag force impulse. The Brownian force acting on Janus microparticles under low laser power cannot be ignored. Furthermore, the minimum laser power required for Janus particles to overcome Brownian motion was calculated. The results can effectively guide the design of Janus particles in biomedicine and systematically analyze the mechanism of particle thermophoretic motion during drug delivery.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Janus microparticles; Photothermal self-driving; Multiphysics coupling method; Brownian force; Directional thermophoretic motion

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