title: Three-dimensionally printed biological machines powered by skeletal muscle.
abstract: Combining biological components, such as cells and tissues, with soft robotics can enable the fabrication of biological machines with the ability to sense, process signals, and produce force. An intuitive demonstration of a biological machine is one that can produce motion in response to controllable external signaling. Whereas cardiac cell-driven biological actuators have been demonstrated, the requirements of these machines to respond to stimuli and exhibit controlled movement merit the use of skeletal muscle, the primary generator of actuation in animals, as a contractile power source. Here, we report the development of 3D printed hydrogel "bio-bots" with an asymmetric physical design and powered by the actuation of an engineered mammalian skeletal muscle strip to result in net locomotion of the bio-bot. Geometric design and material properties of the hydrogel bio-bots were optimized using stereolithographic 3D printing, and the effect of collagen I and fibrin extracellular matrix proteins and insulin-like growth factor 1 on the force production of engineered skeletal muscle was characterized. Electrical stimulation triggered contraction of cells in the muscle strip and net locomotion of the bio-bot with a maximum velocity of ∼ 156 μm s(-1), which is over 1.5 body lengths per min. Modeling and simulation were used to understand both the effect of different design parameters on the bio-bot and the mechanism of motion. This demonstration advances the goal of realizing forward-engineered integrated cellular machines and systems, which can have a myriad array of applications in drug screening, programmable tissue engineering, drug delivery, and biomimetic machine design.
authors: Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801;Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801;
authors: Caroline
authors: C
authors: Cvetkovic
authors: Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801;Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801;
authors: Ritu
authors: R
authors: Raman
authors: Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801;Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801;Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139; and.
authors: Vincent
authors: V
authors: Chan
authors: Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801;Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801;
authors: Brian J
authors: BJ
authors: Williams
authors: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37325.
authors: Madeline
authors: M
authors: Tolish
authors: Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801;Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801;
authors: Piyush
authors: P
authors: Bajaj
authors: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139; and.
authors: Mahmut Selman
authors: MS
authors: Sakar
authors: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139; and.
authors: H Harry
authors: HH
authors: Asada
authors: Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801;Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801;
authors: M Taher A
authors: MT
authors: Saif
authors: Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801;Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801; rbashir@illinois.edu.
authors: Rashid
authors: R
authors: Bashir
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D032701:Biomimetics; D062028:Bioprinting; D002460:Cell Line; D024042:Collagen Type I / Q000737:chemistry; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / Q000737:chemistry; D008124:Locomotion; D051379:Mice; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal
chemical_list: D024042:Collagen Type I; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I
keywords: bioactuator; stereolithography