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Photothermal therapies utilizing gold nanostructures are widely investigated and used within state-of-the-art noninvasive approaches. Single, isolated gold nanoparticles are unable to produce high enough temperatures to perform a sufficient wound closure, requiring therefore large amounts and concentrations to facilitate a therapeutic effect. In this proof of principle study we prepare composite micro-particles which contain near-infrared laser sensitive gold nanorods (GNRs) and Fe 3 O 4 superparamagnetic particles which are agglommerated in a layered polyelectrolyte multilayer (PEM) matrix. The GNRs-Fe 3 O 4 -PEM particles can be enriched in tissue incisions by applying a magnetic field. With this magnetic filed a targeted agglomeration is observed which is beneficial for near-infrared laser based wound sealing. Mechanical tests show that laser treated skin recovered closest to pristine samples and is comparable with nanoparicle gluing. The healing effect of this system is comparable with clinical sutures and nanoparticle gluing in in-vivo experiments. The observation that internal organs like liver can be welded with such composite particles opens new applications for laser tissue welding.

We report a self-propelled Janus micromotor composed by chitosan (CHI) and alginate (ALG) multilayer capsule driven by near-infrared (NIR) illumination. The CHI/ALG multilayer capsules were prepared using conventional template-assisted layer-by-layer (LbL) self-assembly. Subsequently, gold nanorods (GNRs) were deposited on one side of the assembled capsules using microcontact printing method. The GNRs-modified Janus capsules can be driven by NIR irradiation owing to the generated thermal gradient and no additional chemical fuel are requested. It is also shown the moving speed of these Janus micromotors can be regulated by irradiation intensity and reach to 23.27 μm/s at a laser power of 9.6 J/cm2. Since no additional chemical component as fuel, this GNRs-modified ALG/CHI multilayer Janus capsule micromotor shows great potential as a biomimetic delivery platform in biomedical field.

Energy has always been the most concerned topic in the world due to the large consumption. Various types of energy have been exploited and developed to enhance the output amount so that high requirements can be met. Like the hydro-energy, wind energy, and tidal energy, light energy as a renewable, clean, and widespread energy can be easily harvested. In microcosmic scale, some specific proteins and enzymes in green plants and bacteria play an important role in light harvest and energy conversion via photosynthesis. Inspired by the biomimetic sparks, these bioactive macromolecules and some artificially synthetic unites have been integrated together to improve the light-harvesting, and enhance their utilization efficiency. In this feature article, we primarily discuss that how to create the bio-inorganic hybrid energy converted system via biomimetic assembly strategy and artificially achieve the transformation from light into bioenergy, meanwhile highlight some promising works. Keywords: Biomimetic, Molecular assembly, Energy conversion, Light, Bioenergy