Photo by Alex Jerez Roman, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology Engineers developed the first tiny, synthetic machines that can swim by themselves, powered by beating heart cells.
The alien world of aquatic micro-organisms just got new residents: synthetic self-propelled swimming bio-bots.
A team of engineers has developed a class of tiny bio-hybrid machines that swim like sperm, the first synthetic structures that can traverse the viscous fluids of biological environments on their own. Led by Taher Saif, the University of Illinois Gutgsell Professor of mechanical science and engineering, the team published its work in the journal Nature Communications.
“Micro-organisms have a whole world that we only glimpse through the microscope,” Saif said. “This is the first time that an engineered system has reached this underworld.”
The bio-bots are modeled after single-celled creatures with long tails called flagella – for example, sperm. The researchers begin by creating the body of the bio-bot from a flexible polymer. Then they culture heart cells near the junction of the head and the tail. The cells self-align and synchronize to beat together, sending a wave down the tail that propels the bio-bot forward.
This self-organization is a remarkable emergent phenomenon, Saif said, and how the cells communicate with each other on the flexible polymer tail is yet to be fully understood. But the cells must beat together, in the right direction, for the tail to move.
“It’s the minimal amount of engineering – just a head and a wire,” Saif said. “Then the cells come in, interact with the structure, and make it functional.”
See an animation of the bio-bots in motion and a video of a free-swimming bot.
The team also built two-tailed bots, which they found can swim even faster. Multiple tails also opens up the possibility of navigation. The researchers envision future bots that could sense chemicals or light and navigate toward a target for medical or environmental applications.
“The long-term vision is simple,” said Saif, who is also part of the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the U. of I. “Could we make elementary structures and seed them with stem cells that would differentiate into smart structures to deliver drugs, perform minimally invasive surgery or target cancer?”
The Latest on: Bio-hybrid machine
via Google News
The Latest on: Bio-hybrid machine
- A Bio-Hybrid Stingray Robot Powered By Rat Muscleon March 12, 2019 at 7:32 am
This tiny swimming robot, created by researchers at Harvard University's Department of Bioengineering and Applied Sciences, is powered by rat muscle cells, making it a biohybrid machine--part robot, ...
- Rise of the BIOHYBRID MACHINES: Robots part HUMAN part ANDROID on the wayon December 7, 2017 at 9:07 am
Many envision a future of cyborgs – humans that have been fitted with technology to become part man, part machine. However, before then there will be biohybrid robots which are robots which take on ...
- A Sri Lanka-made biohybrid caron October 1, 2017 at 9:27 pm
Since it would be difficult pedal the car if it was too heavy, the machine has been designed to weigh just 40 kg. Mr Ariyaratne stresses that though the bio-hybrid car is not a new concept, the design ...
- Tiny "Bio-Bots" Powered by Heart Cells Can Swim Like Spermon August 30, 2017 at 6:12 am
Tiny "bio-bots" inspired by sperm could swim inside the human body to deliver drugs or target cancer someday. The swimming bio-hybrid machines move by combining live heart cells with the flexible body ...
- Cell generator: Harvesting energy from cells for micro biomedical applicationson March 30, 2017 at 5:00 pm
The integration of active elements from biological systems, such as cells and tissues, with mechanical or electronic interfaces presents unique opportunities for creating bio-hybrid machines that are ...
- Cyborg stingray swims toward light, breaks new groundon August 8, 2016 at 3:08 pm
Parker is not a roboticist. But as an Army veteran who did two tours in Afghanistan, he welcomes any part his stingrays could play in advancing the development of machines able to perform dangerous ...
- Engineers Develop Tiny, Self-Propelled Bio-Bots That Swim Like Spermon January 18, 2014 at 2:37 pm
The beating of heart cells powers the tiny bio-hybrid machines. A team of engineers has developed self-propelled bio-hybrid machines that swim using the same mechanism as sperm. Sperm, and many other ...
- Tiny swimming bio-bots boldly go where no bot has swum beforeon January 16, 2014 at 4:00 pm
The alien world of aquatic micro-organisms just got new residents: synthetic self-propelled swimming bio-bots. Engineers have developed a class of tiny bio-hybrid machines that swim like sperm, the ...
- Tiny swimming bio-bots boldly go where no bot has swum beforeon January 16, 2014 at 4:00 pm
A team of engineers has developed a class of tiny bio-hybrid machines that swim like sperm, the first synthetic structures that can traverse the viscous fluids of biological environments on their own.
- Communication channel between cells and machines paves way toward bio-hybrid robotson November 28, 2012 at 4:00 pm
Currently, researchers are working on integrating living cells and other biological components with electronic components in an attempt to create bio-hybrid robots. These robots could act autonomously ...
via Bing News