Modeling and analysis of bio-syncretic micro-swimmers for cardiomyocyte-based actuation

Abstract

Along with sensation and intelligence, actuation is one of the most important factors in the development of conventional robots. Many novel achievements have been made regarding bio-based actuators to solve the challenges of conventional actuation. However, few studies have focused on methods for controlling the movement performance of bio-syncretic robots by designing robotic structures and programming actuation bio-entities. In this paper, a theoretical model was derived considering kinematics and hydromechanics to describe the dynamics of a dolphin-shaped microstructure and to control the bio-syncretic swimmer movement by establishing the relationships between the swimming velocity of the bio-swimmer, the cell seeding concentration and the cell contractility. The proposed theoretical model was then verified with the fabricated biomimetic swimmer prototype actuated by equivalent external magnetism replacing the bio-entity force based on the study of living, beating cardiomyocyte contractility. This work can improve the development of bio-syncretic robots with an approach to preplanning the seeding concentration of cells for controlling the movement velocity of microstructures, and is also meaningful for biomimetic robots, medical treatments and interventional therapy applications.

The emerging technology of biohybrid micro-robots: a review

“…The most commonly used base material among bioinert polymers is the PDMS elastomer due to its tunable stiffness and numerous possible manufacturing methods (shown in Table 1). However, it has limited bio-motifs for cells to attach to; therefore, it is imperative to improve its bioactivity by appropriate molecules [150]. Structures of PDMS are generally fabricated by die casting [52,151], surface coating [76,81], film cutting [80,152], and 3D bioprinting [139].…”

Engineering bioactive synthetic polymers for biomedical applications: a review with emphasis on tissue engineering and controlled release

“…261,262 Programmable actuation behaviours can be useful for overcoming the various challenges and limitations of biomedical devices; for instance, actuation may enable a fine control of biological events by adding a fourth dimension to the biological system (i.e., the temporal coordinate). The overall goal of bioactuators is to generate functional outcomes in the form of responses to various external physical or chemical stimuli, including temperature, [263][264][265] pH, [266][267][268][269] ionic strength, [270][271][272] oxidation/reduction, [273][274][275] light, [276][277][278][279][280] and electric [281][282][283][284] or magnetic fields [285][286][287] that satisfy biocompatible conditions.…”

Dynamic Model for Characterizing Contractile Behaviors and Mechanical Properties of a Cardiomyocyte

“…PDMS micro-pillars were fabricated by casting PDMS from silicon wafers with patterned SU-8 structures using traditional lithography. The Young's modulus of the PDMS micro-pillars used in this experiment was defined as 750 kPa, and the Poisson's ratio was 0.49, as described in our previous report (27). Each micro-pillar was 10 mm in diameter and 10 mm in height, and the center-to-center spacing between pillars was 20 mm (Fig.…”

“…The cells grow and extend to cover several posts and then drive the pillars to bend rhythmically with their contraction. According to the mechanics of materials, the contractility on each independent micro-pillar can be calculated to describe the local force of the beating cells (26,27). To measure the stress induced by cell contraction, scientists have developed the flexible, thin-film measuring method (28)(29)(30)(31).…”