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Kropacek J, Maslen C, Gidoni P, Cigler P, Stepanek F, Rehor I. Light-Responsive Hydrogel Microcrawlers, Powered and Steered with Spatially Homogeneous Illumination. Soft Robot 2024; 11:531-538. [PMID: 38447126 DOI: 10.1089/soro.2023.0074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/08/2024] Open
Abstract
Sub-millimeter untethered locomoting robots hold promise to radically change multiple areas of human activity such as microfabrication/assembly or health care. To overcome the associated hurdles of such a degree of robot miniaturization, radically new approaches are being adopted, often relying on soft actuating polymeric materials. Here, we present light-driven, crawling microrobots that locomote by a single degree of freedom actuation of their light-responsive tail section. The direction of locomotion is dictated by the robot body design and independent of the spatial modulation of the light stimuli, allowing simultaneous multidirectional motion of multiple robots. Moreover, we present a method for steering such robots by reversibly deforming their front section, using ultraviolet (UV) light as a trigger. The deformation dictates the robot locomotion, performing right- or left-hand turning when the UV is turned on or off respectively. The robots' motion and navigation are not coupled to the position of the light sources, which enables simultaneous locomotion of multiple robots, steering of robots and brings about flexibility with the methods to deliver the light to the place of robot operation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jindrich Kropacek
- Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Charlie Maslen
- Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Paolo Gidoni
- Polytechnic Department of Engineering and Architecture, University of Udine, Udine, Italy
- Department of Decision-Making Theory, Institute of Information Theory and Automation of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Petr Cigler
- Synthetic Nanochemistry, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Frantisek Stepanek
- Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Ivan Rehor
- Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
- Synthetic Nanochemistry, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
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Zhu S, Cheng Y, Wang J, Liu G, Luo T, Li X, Yang S, Yang R. Biohybrid magnetic microrobots: An intriguing and promising platform in biomedicine. Acta Biomater 2023; 169:88-106. [PMID: 37572981 DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2023.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2023] [Revised: 07/19/2023] [Accepted: 08/03/2023] [Indexed: 08/14/2023]
Abstract
Biohybrid magnetic microrobots (BMMs) have emerged as an exciting class of microrobots and have been considered as a promising platform in biomedicine. Many microorganisms and body's own cells show intriguing properties, such as morphological characteristics, biosafety, and taxis abilities (e.g., chemotaxis, aerotaxis), which have made them attractive for the fabrication of microrobots. For remote controllability and sustainable actuation, magnetic components are usually incorporated onto these biological entities, and other functionalized non-biological components (e.g., therapeutic agents) are also included for specific applications. This review highlights the latest developments in BMMs with a focus on their biomedical applications. It starts by introducing the fundamental understanding of the propulsion system at the microscale in a magnetically driven manner, followed by a summary of diverse BMMs based on different microorganisms and body's own cells along with their relevant applications. Finally, the review discusses how BMMs contribute to the advancements of microrobots, the current challenges of using BMMs in practical clinical settings, and the future perspectives of this exciting field. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Biohybrid magnetic microrobots (BMMs), composed of biological entities and functional parts, hold great potential and serve as a novel and promising platform for biomedical applications such as targeted drug delivery. This review comprehensively summarizes the recent advancements in BMMs for biomedical applications, mainly focused on the representative propulsion modalities in a magnetically propelled manner and diverse designs of BMMs based on different biological entities, including microorganisms and body's own cells. We hope this review can provide ideas for the future design, development, and innovation of micro/nanorobots in the field of biomedicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shilu Zhu
- School of Biomedical Engineering, 3D-Printing and Tissue Engineering Center, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China
| | - Yifan Cheng
- School of Biomedical Engineering, 3D-Printing and Tissue Engineering Center, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China
| | - Jian Wang
- School of Biomedical Engineering, 3D-Printing and Tissue Engineering Center, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China
| | - Guangli Liu
- School of Biomedical Engineering, 3D-Printing and Tissue Engineering Center, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China
| | - Tingting Luo
- School of Biomedical Engineering, 3D-Printing and Tissue Engineering Center, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China.
| | - Xiaojian Li
- Department of Management, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China.
| | - Shanlin Yang
- Key Laboratory of Process Optimization and Intelligent Decision-Making (Ministry of Education), Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China.
| | - Runhuai Yang
- School of Biomedical Engineering, 3D-Printing and Tissue Engineering Center, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China.
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Wei K, Fang X, Tang C, Zhu L, Fang Y, Yang K, Yang R. Customizable single-layer hydrogel robot with programmable NIR-triggered responsiveness. LAB ON A CHIP 2023. [PMID: 37449371 DOI: 10.1039/d3lc00408b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
Hydrogel robots are widely used in biomedical fields due to their excellent biocompatibility and response to external stimuli. However, traditional processing methods cannot rapidly fabricate complex structures, and smart response strategies often rely on double-layer structures fabricated from two materials with significantly different swelling properties. In this study, we present a single-layer hydrogel robot that can be fabricated in one step using a high-precision digital light processing (H-P DLP) 3D printing system. The robot has structural differences and the ability to maintain a repetitive response. Additionally, we fabricated several robot grippers to demonstrate their potential for customization and programming, as well as their potential applications in cargo delivery. Our work provides a new approach to achieve the formation and response of various irregular hydrogels, which is expected to advance the development of biomedical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kun Wei
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Biomedical Robotics Laboratory, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China.
| | - Xingmiao Fang
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Biomedical Robotics Laboratory, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China.
| | - Chenlong Tang
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Biomedical Robotics Laboratory, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China.
| | - Ling Zhu
- Anhui Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230031, China
| | - Yuqiang Fang
- Department of Mechanics, School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun 130025, China
| | - Ke Yang
- Anhui Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230031, China
| | - Runhuai Yang
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Biomedical Robotics Laboratory, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China.
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Zhu S, Cheng Y, Chen J, Liu G, Luo T, Yang R. Dynamically reversible cooperation and interaction of multiple rotating micromotors. LAB ON A CHIP 2023; 23:1905-1917. [PMID: 36880376 DOI: 10.1039/d3lc00108c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Micromotors have been shown to have great potential in various fields (e.g., targeted therapeutics, self-organizing systems), and research on the cooperative and interactive behaviours of multiple micromotors could potentially revolutionize many fields in terms of performing multiple or complex tasks to compensate for the limitations of individual micromotors; however, dynamically reversible transitions among diverse behaviours remain much less explored, and such dynamic transformations are advantageous for achieving complex tasks. Here, we present a microsystem consisting of multiple disk-like micromotors capable of performing reversible transformations between cooperative and interactive behaviours at the liquid surface. The micromotors with aligned magnetic particles in our system have great magnet properties, which provides a strong magnetic interaction with each other and is vital for the whole microsystem. We offer and analyse the physical models among multiple micromotors concerning the cooperative and interactive modes in the lower and higher frequency ranges, respectively, between which the state transformation can reversibly occur. Furthermore, based on the proposed reversible microsystem, the feasibility of the application of self-organization is verified by demonstrating three different dynamic self-organizing behaviours. Our proposed dynamically reversible system has great potential to serve as a paradigm for studying cooperative and interactive behaviours among multiple micromotors in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shilu Zhu
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Biomedical Robotics Laboratory, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China.
| | - Yifan Cheng
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Biomedical Robotics Laboratory, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China.
| | - Jialong Chen
- College & Hospital of Stomatology, Anhui Medical University, Key Lab. of Oral Diseases Research of Anhui Province, Hefei, 230032, China
| | - Guangli Liu
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Biomedical Robotics Laboratory, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China.
| | - Tingting Luo
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Biomedical Robotics Laboratory, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China.
| | - Runhuai Yang
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Biomedical Robotics Laboratory, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China.
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Aubry G, Lee HJ, Lu H. Advances in Microfluidics: Technical Innovations and Applications in Diagnostics and Therapeutics. Anal Chem 2023; 95:444-467. [PMID: 36625114 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.2c04562] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Guillaume Aubry
- School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Hyun Jee Lee
- School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Hang Lu
- School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States.,Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
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Lim S, Du Y, Lee Y, Panda SK, Tong D, Khalid Jawed M. Fabrication, control, and modeling of robots inspired by flagella and cilia. BIOINSPIRATION & BIOMIMETICS 2022; 18:011003. [PMID: 36533860 DOI: 10.1088/1748-3190/aca63d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2022] [Accepted: 11/25/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Flagella and cilia are slender structures that serve important functionalities in the microscopic world through their locomotion induced by fluid and structure interaction. With recent developments in microscopy, fabrication, biology, and modeling capability, robots inspired by the locomotion of these organelles in low Reynolds number flow have been manufactured and tested on the micro-and macro-scale, ranging from medicalin vivomicrobots, microfluidics to macro prototypes. We present a collection of modeling theories, control principles, and fabrication methods for flagellated and ciliary robots.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sangmin Lim
- Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Westwood Plaza, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States of America
| | - Yayun Du
- Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Westwood Plaza, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States of America
| | - Yongkyu Lee
- Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Westwood Plaza, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States of America
| | - Shivam Kumar Panda
- Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Westwood Plaza, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States of America
| | - Dezhong Tong
- Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Westwood Plaza, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States of America
| | - M Khalid Jawed
- Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Westwood Plaza, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States of America
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