Janus Mazebots and Cellbots Navigating Obstacles in Dense Mammalian Environment

Abstract

The field of microrobotics has immensely grown in the last few decades, exhibiting several challenges as new features such as shapes, sizes, and actuation mechanisms are explored. Two of the biggest challenges faced in microrobotics are the development of a control system suited for precise microrobotic manipulation, and the ability to navigate microrobots in densely populated environments. In this paper, we fabricate the Mazebot microrobots using silica spheres and ferromagnetic coating, and we use them to create cellbots with genetically modified Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells. Subsequently, we navigate both the Mazebots and the cellbots through a dense environment populated by CHO cells. The Mazebots navigation is done with a control system that allows the Mazebots to swim on their own, or guide a specific cell from a given origin to a target location while avoiding cell obstacles. The control system operates in open and closed-loop modes, where the first one allows the microrobot to reorient the cell using self-induced fluid vortices, and the second one closely follows a predefined trajectory along the origin and destination. On the other hand, the cellbots navigation is done in closed-loop operation. This enables cell manipulation for potential applications in cell and tissue engineering when in a confined space. Biocompatibility of the Mazebots is confirmed through the exposure of CHO cells to the robots for 24 hours. Experimental results demonstrate the functionality of our algorithm and its potential for biomedical applications, showcasing our system as a powerful and efficient solution for precise cellular manipulation.