title: Establishment of a fabrication method for a long-term actuated hybrid cell robot.
abstract: We developed a novel method to fabricate a crab-like microrobot that can actuate for a long period in a physiological condition. The microrobot backbone was built with a biocompatible and elastic material-polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-by using a specially designed 3D molding aligner, and consisted of three strips of PDMS "legs" connected across a "body." Cardiomyocytes were then plated on the grooved top surface of the backbone, resulting in a high concentration of pulsating cells. These key techniques enabled the microrobot to walk continuously for over ten days. The performance of our crab-like microrobot was measured at an average velocity of 100 microm s(-1), and the estimated total distance it travelled was 50 m over a one-week period. Thus, we have demonstrated for the first time a walking robot that exhibited reliable and long-term actuation performances.
authors.affiliation: Nano-Bio Research Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Korea.
authors.forename: Jinseok
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jungyul
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Sungwook
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Jeongeun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Baek
authors.forename: Byungkyu
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Sang Ho
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Eui-Sung
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Yoon
authors.forename: Kukjin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chun
authors.forename: Sukho
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Park
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004867:Equipment Design; D009206:Myocardium / Q000166:cytology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012371:Robotics