Bioactuators: Damage, Healing, and Remodeling in Optogenetic Skeletal Muscle Bioactuators (Adv. Healthcare Mater. 12/2017)

Abstract

Biological materials can adaptively respond to their environment, motivating their use as functional components of engineered machines. In article number https://doi.org/10.1002/adhm.201700030, Rashid Bashir and co‐workers present a skeletal muscle‐powered bio‐hybrid robot (bio‐bot) that can adapt to loss‐of‐function damage stimuli, completely healing and recovering functionality within two days. This presents a significant step forward in developing robust, resilient, and dynamically responsive biohybrid machines.

In Vitro Insect Muscle for Tissue Engineering Applications

“…Bioactuators are theorized to be advantageous over conventional actuators because of their efficiency and sustainability, and their capacity for self-assembly, self-healing, and biodegradation . Most bioactuator research at cellular and tissue levels has focused on mammalian cardiac or skeletal cells or insect dorsal vessel tissue (DVT) explants .…”